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Know Your Oklahoma 


By 

A. L. BECKETT 


\' 



1930 

Harlow Publishing Co. 
Oklahoma City 



X.O, 

‘ 


Copyright 1930 by 
A. L. BECKETT 



©CIA 


28245 




$ 


DEDICATION 

To the Citizens of Oklahoma, in the hope that this little 
volume may stimulate in the minds of its readers a greater in¬ 
terest in the wonderfully interesting history of our State, in 
the amazing growth of our goveurnmient expense and the con-\ 
stantly increasing burdens of taxatiofi. 

That it may awaken a realization of the dangers ahead 
unless we find a way to lighten the burden and more equabhf 
distribute the costs of government. 






PREFACE 

In preparing this little volume I have followed the plan 
of the old time hotel, or tavern, which placed on a table, for all 
who cared to eat, some of every kind of food available, as well 
prepared as the cook knew how with the means at hand. 

Each guest was expected to help himself to such food as 
he most relished and to eat his fill. It was furnished at moder¬ 
ate cost and the landlord hoped that it would relieve hunger 
and furnish a reasonable degree of nourishment. 

Sometimes the food was not overly palatable but the wise 
traveler partook of it as heartily as he might for his well being. 
The old time landlord really hoped that his guests might like 
the fare. 

The reader will find here a variety of information, served 
in more or less interesting manner. Likely he will think much 
of it unrelated and out of place. It may not be seasoned to 
your taste or served as you would best like it, but I hope you 
will find it informative and of real substantial value to you as 
a citizen of our great State. 

That those who care to know something more of our gov¬ 
ernmental affairs may find in it useful and helpful information 
is my earnest desire. 

Most of the statistical information, tables and graphs were 
collated and prepared by the University of Oklahoma. That re¬ 
lating to County and School districts by D. V. Armstrong, Coun¬ 
ty Clerk of Okmulgee County, and ex-President of the State 
County Clerks’ Association and of the County Officers’ Associ¬ 
ation of Oklahoma. 

These statistics may be accepted as entirely reliable. 

The historical matter and such comments as are included 
are my own. Some of the historical material here included has 
not, so far as I know, been heretofore incorporated in any his¬ 
tory of our state and I trust it may be of some interest and 
benefit. 

July 31, 1930 

A. L. Beckett. 





Table of Contents 

PART ONE. 

Genesis of Oklahoma Government 

I. IN THE BEGINNING.—Tracing the different governments of which Okla¬ 
homa has been a part since it became a part of the United States on 
December 3rd, 1803, to the year 1828, and outlining its governmental 
status under the several changes. _--_ 1 

?,L AN INDIAN COUNTRY.—Covering the period of exclusive Indian dom¬ 
ination and development. _--_11 

III. RECONSTRUCTION.—The development of the East side from the close 

of the Civil War to 1889. _17 

IV. RESERVATIONS AND RANCHES.—The development of the West side 

from the Civil War to 1889. __27 

V. FOUNDING A NEW COMMONWEALTH.—The progress and growth of 

Oklahoma Territory. _--_30 

VI. TRANSFORMATION AND DISSOLUTION.—The coming of intruders 

into the Indian nations, and the gradual breaking down of the Indian 
governments and institutions. _ 33 

VII. MAKING A STATE.—The amalgamation of eight governments into one, 

showing some of the unusual conditions prevailing and difficulties that 
had to be overcome. _--__41 

PART TWO. 

Oklahoma History in Figures 

I. Statistical tables, graphs, etc.,___49 

TABLE 1.—is a list of the state officers elected at the successive elections 
from 1907 to 1927 inclusive. All of these have been Democrats. Since 
statehood not a single Republican has been elected to a state executive 
office. _51 

TABLE 2.—shows the votes cast in each election since statehood by all 
parties. _—-----53 

TABLE 3.—shows, (1) the educational institutions organized and in opera¬ 
tion in Oklahoma territory at the admission of the state; (2) the state 
offices provided by the constitution and elected at the first election; 
(3) the only governing Board in the state at that time.-54 













TABLE 4.—shows the state offices, schools, boards and commissions, ele¬ 
emosynary intitutions, hospitals and asylums, and penal institutions 


added and created since statehood._—_ 54 

TABLE 5.—shows the growth of population. _ 57 

TABLE 6.—shows the increase in property values as fixed for purposes of 

taxation. _—__ 58 

TABLE 7.—shows the agricultural production and farm value of the different 
farm crops raised in Oklahoma for the years shown on the table -59 

TABLE 8.—shows the growth of manufactures. --_ 60 

TABLE 9. — shows the output of crude oil, coal, lead and zinc produced in 

Oklahoma each year since statehood, with the value of same. -61 


TABLE 9-A.—shows the output of oil in barrels each year where records 
were available, since the discovery of oil in Oklahoma in 1891. This 
table furnished by Chas. I. O'Neill, Secretary of the Independent Oil 
Association of Oklahoma. _ — __-62 

TABLE 9-& — shows the mine production of lead and zinc ores in Oklahoma 
by tons, and the average value of them each year, and was furnished 
by M. I). Harbaugh, secretary of the Lead and Zinc Producers organ¬ 
ization. _ -- _63 

TABLE 10. — shows the number of banks gross deposits, and number of bank 
failures since 1916. _64 

TABLE 11. — shows the railroad mileage and tax value of same for the years 
1914 to 1927 inclusive. _ — -65 

TABLE 12. — shows the number of automobile registrations since 1920._ 66 

TABLE 13. — shows the growth of telephone communication in the state 
since 1913. ___ 67 

TABLE' 14. — shows the increased value of assessed real estate property in 
the state, 1914 to 1926 inclusive. __—-- 67 

TABLE 15. — shows the increase in employees and officials of the state de¬ 
partments named in the table, and the increase in the appropriations 

* 

made for their compensation. _bS 

TABLE 16. — shows the increase in appropriations for state government since 
the fiscal year 1909-1910. _70 

TABLE 17. — shows the sources from which the state receives its funds. _ 72 

TABLE 18. — shows the educational and penal institutions at the time of 
the admission of the state and the appropriations made for same for 
the first 19 y 2 months of state government; and following shows also 
the educational and penal institutions now in operation by the state 

and the appropriation for the same for the last fiscal year. __ 73 

TABLE 19.—shows the appropriations for the offices and departments of 
government for the 19Y 2 months following the admission of the state 
















into the Union, and for the same offices and departments for the last 
fiscal year. - 74 

TABLE 20. — shows the comparative value of privately owned real and per¬ 
sonal property in the state and the value for tax purposes of public 
service property for the past three fiscal years. _ 75 

TABLE 21. — Ad valorem tax levies and income tax collections. _-- 76 

TABLE 22. — Legislative appropriations._ --_ 77 

TABLE 23. — State and Federal income taxes compared. _—_ 7S 

TABLE 24.—Sources of State Income. _ 80 

TABLE 25. — Disbursement of Funds. _ 81 

TABLE 26. — Department Costs. - 81 

TABLE 27. — Inventory State Property. _ 82 

TABLE' 28. — Tax Rates and Valuation. _ 86 

TABLE 20.—Bond Issues. -,- 86 

TABLE 30. — School Fund Securities. _ S7 

TABLE 31.—1928 Valuation. _ 88 

TABLE 32.—1930 Population. __•_ 90 

TABLE 33.—Public Service Valuation. __ 92 

TABLE' 34. — Cost of County Government, Highways and Common Schools. 94 

TABLE 1 35.—Scholastic Enumeration. _ 103 

TABLE 36. — U. S. Appropriations to Oklahoma. _ 105 

II. The Strange case of Ottawa County. _ 111 

Calling attention to legislative favoratism and some of the results 

Appendix 

The Indian Constitutions 

I. Okmulgee Constitution - 119 

II. Sequoyah Constitution - 128 






























INTRODUCTION 

We have had a little more than twenty years of State gov¬ 
ernment. Eventful years. Full of action. History making 
years. 

We are proud of our state. We point with pride to her 
matchless achievements and her phenomenal progress. 

In the rapid succession of events it is to be feared that 
most of us have been grossly negligent in the matter of keeping 
ourselves properly informed as to vitally important matters in 
which each of us should take a deep and continued interest. 

There is no one thing in which a citizen should be more' 
concerned than his government. It is not enough to get “all 
het up” every two years and work to “put over” our party 1 
ticket, nor even to try and see to it that some particular “good 
fellow” gets nominated and elected. 

It is our solemn duty to do all we can, all the time, to the 
end that we may have the best possible government for the 
least possible cost. 

As private citizens we shape our government as we will 
through the use of our ballots and our personal influence ex¬ 
erted upon others. 

Those who are chosen to fill official places and actually ad¬ 
minister the affairs of state are invested with those responsi¬ 
bilities by our ballots. 

Their course of action in public office is largely, we might 
almost truthfully say entirely, determined by what they be¬ 
lieve to be “public opinion.” Public opinion is determined by 
the utterances of private citizens either by word of mouth or 
through the press. 

That citizen who has accurate and complete information 
about that of which he speaks or writes and who reasons ac¬ 
curately to sound conclusions based on the facts and who hon¬ 
estly and fearlessly expresses his opinions as to public affairs 
has much to do with molding public opinion aright. 

Nothing can be more sure than that the great majority of 
our people want good government. That they do not have as 
good government as they want comes, almost solely, from their 
lack of intimate knowledge of their government. An intelli¬ 
gent, well informed citizenship is sure to result in good govern¬ 
ment. 

The citizenship of Oklahoma is as loyal and patriotic as 
that of any commonwealth. They want the best government 
possible. They have not knowingly chosen, nor will they pur¬ 
posely elect, public officials unworthy or unfit. They will not 


knowingly approve or support waste or extravagance. They 
want just laws, impartially and fairly enforced. They want 
the burden of governmental expense to rest equally upon all 
in proportion to their ability to pay. 

Up to this time we have been quite like one of our famous 
native sons: “All we know is what we see in the papers,” and 
to be wholly charitable, for divers reasons, we can’t always be¬ 
lieve all we see in the papers. Then there is so very, very little 
to see, for the great business of government isn’t news at all 
unless a cog is loose or something is shockingly wrong, and 
after all, newspapers are publishing what they understand to 
be news. 

It is the purpose of this compilation to furnish accurate 
and authentic information about the governmental departments 
of our state such as will enable the student of its contents to 
have a fair working knowledge of that part of government ad¬ 
ministered by each department, what each has accomplished up 
to date, what it has cost to do the work and where the money 
comes from to pay the bills. 

President Wilson, in an address to the student body of 
a great university, once said, in speaking of the importance 
of history: “No people can tell where they are going until 
they have a fairly accurate knowledge of where they came 
from.” To those of us who have been a part of Oklahoma from 
its beginning it may be profitable to recall some of our early 
experiences; and to those thousands who have since become 
citizens of the state it should be interesting, and may be profi¬ 
table, to know what those who were charged with the duty 
of administering Oklahoma government had to begin with, the 
conditions under which they operated, and the progress we have 
made in the intervening years. 

To that end the material presented in this little volume 
has been collected, and is offered to the citizens of Oklahoma in 
the hope that they may find in it something of interest, and 
perhaps profit. 


Part I 

Genesis of Oklahoma Government 



( 




Know Your Oklahoma 

CHAPTER I 
In The Beginning 

To intelligently understand and appreciate the development 
and growth of our state government and its institutions it is 
necessary that we have a fairly comprehensive knowledge of 
conditions as they were at the time of the formation of our 
state and its admission into the Union, and something of the 
events and causes which brought those conditions about. 

To say that at the time of its admission as a state, November 
16, 1907, Oklahoma had within its boundaries an area of 69,414 
square miles and a population of 1,414,177, furnishes the stu¬ 
dent little upon which to begin a study of Oklahoma govern¬ 
ment, resources, industries and other vitally important phases 
of its development and progress. 

The remarkable history of our state can be understood and 
its many unusual stages of development properly related, one 
to the other, only by a study of the subject in epochs, or periods 
of progress, each of which consists of a distinct governmental 
status. 

Each change brought into existence new conditions which 
had lasting effect upon the people and became a part of the 
sum total that went into the making of Oklahoma. 

Not only did these things determine the number of in¬ 
habitants who composed our population, but they determined 
the character and kind of peoples who made up our citizenship. 
They also had much to do with the thinking of the people about 
government and the trend of that thinking. They constituted 
the background, or viewpoint, from which the people reasoned 
about the government to be, and finally determined the policies 
which were incorporated into and became a part of our funda¬ 
mental laws. Also they brought into being some of the most 
difficult problems the founders of our state government had to 
face and solve. Problems unknown to any other state in the 
Union. 

Therefore a study of these epochs of development in the 
order of their occurrence is the only right approach to a com¬ 
prehensive understanding of our state as an institution of gov¬ 
ernment. 

These epochs of development inevitably divide themselves 
into the following: 

The period of discovery, exploration and first settlement, 
not having so directly affected our present conditions, and hav¬ 
ing been to some extent discussed in most of our histories, as 

(i) 


2 


Know Your Oklahoma 


a result generally known, will not be dealt with here: Those 
following are : 

2. The period from the date' of the Louisiana Purchase 
(December 20, 1803), through which all of Oklahoma, except 
the Panhandle, became a part of the United States, to the time 
of the cession of Oklahoma to the Five Civilized Tribes of 
Indians, about twenty-five years. 

3. The period from the location of the Five Tribes in 
Oklahoma to the close of the Civil War, about thirty years. 

4. a. The period following the Civil War to the first 
opening of Oklahoma lands to settlement. This period having 
application only to the west half of the state. 

b. From the Civil War to the establishment of United 
States Court in the Indian Country. A study solely of the east 
half of the state. 

5. a. Development of Oklahoma Territory, 
b. Transformation of Indian Territory. 

6. The making and development of our state. 

In this chapter we will trace the changes in our legal ex¬ 
istence in the second period above referred to. 

Genesis of Oklahoma Government 

Oklahoma’s legal status as a part of the United States be¬ 
gins at New Orleans on the 20th day of December, 1803, The 
purchase of Louisiana had been concluded and President Jef¬ 
ferson had designated William C. C. Claiborne, then governor 
of Mississippi Territory, and General James Wilkinson, as the 
American Commissioners to receive Louisiana. Monsieur 
Laussat acted as the representative of Napoleon Bonaparte to 
deliver over to the United States that vast domain including 
within it all of the present states of Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, 
North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, most of Louisiana, 
most of Kansas, parts of Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming and 
Colorado and all of Okahoma, except the “Panhandle.” 

The ceremony of transfer was made at the city hall, called 
in Spanish, “Cabildo.” 

The Commissioners for the United States were accompanied 
by a military escort. A great concourse of people gathered 
before the city hall to watch, with curiosity, the ceremony 
which meant their transfer from one government to another, 
a transfer about which they had not been consulted, and in 
which their interests had not been considered nor their wishes 
and desires treated as worthy of notice. 

Only .twenty days before, they had been delivered over 


Know Your Oklahoma 


3 


from Spain to France under the same conditions. Their future 
status as citizens of the United States was to them unknown. 

Governor Claiborne made an address to the people in which 
he assured them that their liberty, property and religion were 
safe, and that they should never again be transferred. 

They were, of course, expected to become at once loyal and 
patriotic citizens of the new government, of which they were 
then becoming a part, and, be it said to their everlasting praise, 
they did just that. 

At this time there were perhaps between four and five hun¬ 
dred thousand European citizens living within the boundaries 
of the Louisiana Purchase. In Oklahoma there was only the 
trading post of Pierre Choteau, on Neosho, or Grand River a 
short distance northwest of Ft. Gibson and such fur traders and 
adventurers as happened to be within the area now composing 
our state. 

Having acquired this new addition to the territory of the 
United States, it was necessary that a government for its people 
be quickly established, and that personal security and property 
rights be in some measure protected. 

Our First Government 
Louisiana District of Indiana Territory 

The first governmental authority exercised over the new 
acquisition was by Wm. C. C. Claiborne, officially designated as 
“Acting Governor General and Intendant of Louisiana,” who 
had his headquarters at New Orleans. Amos Stoddard was lo¬ 
cated at Saint Louis with the rank of “First Civil Commandant 
of Upper Louisiana.” The Government administered by them 
was solely under military authority. 

Under Act of Congress, approved March 26, 1804, the 
Louisiana Purchase was divided in two parts: The act pro¬ 
viding : 

“That all of that portion of the country ceded by 
France to the United States, under the name of Louisi¬ 
ana, which lies south of the Mississippi Territory and 
of an east and west line, to commence on the Missis¬ 
sippi River at the 33rd degree north latitude, and to 
extend west to the western boundary of the said ces¬ 
sion, shall constitute a territory of the United States 
under the name of the Territory of Orleans; the gov¬ 
ernment whereof shall be organized and administered 
as follows:” 

The Act then provides for the estblishment of a territorial 
form of government for the Territory of Orleans which included 


4 


Know Your Oklahoma 


most of the territory now embraced within the state of Louis¬ 
iana. 

The Act then continues: 

“Section 12. The residue of the province of Louisi¬ 
ana, ceded to the United States, shall be called the Dis¬ 
trict of Louisiana, the government whereof shall be 
organized and administered as follows : The executive 
power now vested in the Governor of Indiana Territory 
shall extend to and be exercised in the said District 
of Louisiana. The Governor and Judges of the In¬ 
diana Territory shall have power to establish in the 
said District of Louisiana inferior courts, and pre¬ 
scribe their jurisdiction and duties and to make all laws 
which they deem conducive to the good government of 
the inhabitants thereof.” 

Thus Oklahoma acquired its first governmental status as 
a part of the United States, and William Henry “Old Tippecanoe” 
Harrison, being then Governor of Indiana Territory, became 
the first Governor of what is now Oklahoma (except the Pan¬ 
handle) . 

Indiana Territory at that time included all of the present 
states of Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, a little more than 
the west half of Michigan, and about one-third of Minnesota; 
and Governor Harrison was the first executive officer of the 
greatest and richest area ever included within the jurisdiction 
of any governor within the United States. 

The Act creating this government is remarkable in that 
it conferred upon the executive and judicial branches of that 
government sole and exclusive legislative power. Also it is 
remarkable in that it placed us under the administration of the 
Governor of Indiana Territory, but under an entirely different 
code of laws. 

On October 1, 1804, William Henry Harrison, as Governor, 
Thos. Terry Davis, Henry Vander Burgh and John Griffin, 
Judges of the Indiana Territory, met at Vincennes, Indiana, as 
a legislative body to enact laws for the government of the peo¬ 
ple of the District of Louisiana. They enacted a code of laws, 
which was the first code effective in Oklahoma. 

They made provision for the following courts : Justice of 
the Peace, the Courts of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, 
Court of Common Pleas, Court of Probate and a Supreme Court! 
A criminal code was enacted and punishment provided for a 
number of crimes, although as compared with our present crim¬ 
inal code very few acts were prohibited. 


Know Your Oklahoma 


5 


The District of Louisiana was divided into five judicial 
districts; i. e. Saint Charles, Saint Louis, Saint Genevieve, Cape 
Girardeau, and New Madrid. 

The only law referring to transportation was. “A Law Reg¬ 
ulating Boatmen.” From this we can infer that the only means 
of transportation was by boat, and that little importance was 
attached to roads and highways. 

The entire code of laws enacted by this legislature con¬ 
sisted of 134 pages, 15 pages of which was devoted to the pro¬ 
tection and security of slave owners. 

The civil status of a negro is set forth in the first section 
of the chapter, entitled “A Law Entitled a Law Respecting 
Slaves,” and is as follows: 

“Section 1st. That no negro or mulatto, shall 
be a witness, except in pleas of the United States 
against negroes or mulattos, and in civil pleas where 
negroes alone shall be parties.” 

Section two provides: 

“And be it further enacted, That no slave shall go 
from the tenements of his master, or other person with 
whom he lives without a pass, or some letter or docu¬ 
ment whereby it may appear that he is proceeding by 
authority from his master, employer or overseer, if he 
does it shall be lawful for any person to apprehend and 
carry him before a Justice of the Peace to be by his 
order punished with stripes, or not, in his discretion.” 
***** 

“Section 4. And be it further enacted, That no 
slave or mulatto whatsoever shall keep or carry any 
gun, powder, shot, club, or other weapon whatsoever, 
offensive or defensive, but all and every gun and 
weapon and ammunition found in the possession or 
custody of any negro or mulatto may be seized by any 
person and upon proof thereof made before any Jus¬ 
tice of the Peace of the district where such seizure 
shall be, shall by his order be forfeited to the seizor, 
for his own use, and moreover every such offender 
shall be and receive by order of such Justice any num¬ 
ber of lashes not exceeding 39 on his or her bare 
back well laid on for each such offense.” 

***** 

Section 14. 

“And be it further enacted, That if any negro or 
other slave shall at any time consult, advise or con- 


6 


Know Your Oklahoma 


spire to rebel or make insurrection or shall plot or 
conspire the murder of any person or persons what¬ 
soever, every such consulting, plotting or conspiring 
shall be adjudged and deemed a felony, and the slave 
or slaves convicted thereof shall suffer death and be 
utterly excluded of benefit of Clergy.” 

Section 15. 

“And be it further enacted, That if any negro 
or other slave, shall prepare, exhibit or administer 
any medicine whatsoever, he or she so offending shall 
be adjudged guilty of felony, and suffer death without 
benefit of Clergy.” 

To further secure the slave owners in his right of property 
Section 21 provides: 

“And be it further enacted, That if any one what¬ 
ever be guilty of stealing or selling any free person 
for a slave, knowing the said person so sold to be free, 
and thereof shall be lawfully convicted, the person so 
convicted shall suffer death without the benefit of 
Clergy.” 

Section 22. 

“And be it further enacted, That if any person 
or persons shall steal any negro or mulatto whatsoever 
out of, or from the possession of the owner or over¬ 
seer of such slave, the person or persons so offending 
shall be, and are hereby declared felons, and shall suf¬ 
fer death without benefit of Clergy.” 

The death penalty was also provided for those found guilty 
of the crime of murder, but one convicted of that crime was 
permitted to have a prayer offered in his behalf. 

Judging from the relative bulk of laws enacted regarding 
it, the slave industry must have been considered the most im¬ 
portant subject of legislation at that time. 

Territory of Louisiana 

However, we remained a part of Indiana Territory only 
a short time. By an Act of Congress, approved March 3, 1805, 
we became a part of the Territory of Louisiana. The Act 
reads in part as follows: 

“Be it enacted, etc., That all that part of the coun¬ 
try ceded by the French to the United States under 
the general name of Louisiana, which, by act of last 
session of Congress, was enacted into a separate dis¬ 
trict to be called the District of Louisina, shall hence- 


Know Your Oklahoma 


7 


forth be known and designated by the name and title 
of the Territory of Louisiana, the government whereof 
shall be organized and administered as follows: The 
executive power shall be vested in a Governor, who 
shall reside in said Territory, and hold his office during 
a term of three years unless sooner removed by the 
President of the United States. He shall be Com¬ 
mander in Chief of the Militia of the said territory, 
superintendent ex officio of Indian affairs, and shall 
appoint and commission all officers in the same below 
the rank of general officers; shall have power to grant 
pardons for offenses against the same, and reprieve 
for those against the United States until the decision 
of the President thereon shall be known.” 

The act provided for a territorial secretary, who should 
hold office for a term of four years, and who should exercise 
the duties of governor in the case of a vacancy in that office. 

The Act provided for three judges who should hold their 
office for a term of four years, and the legislative power was 
vested in the governor and three judges, or a majority of them,, 
the Governor, Secretary and Judges to be appointed by the 
President of the United States. 

This Act also provided that the laws in force in the Dis¬ 
trict of Louisiana at the commencement of the act, and not in¬ 
consistent with the provisions thereof, would continue in force 
until altered, modified or repealed by the legislature, and pro¬ 
vided that the Act should go into effect on the 4th day of July, 
1805. 

James Wilkinson was the first Governor appointed for 
the Territory of Louisiana, and served as such through the 
years 1805-1807, except for the time that Joseph Browne, who 
was appointed Secretary of the Territory, served as Acting 
Governor in 1807, and Frederick Bates, who succeeded Browne 
as Secretary, served as Acting Governor during part of 1807. 

Meriwether Lewis was appointed Governor and served dur¬ 
ing the years 1807-1809. He was succeeded by Benjamin Howard, 
who served from 1810 to 1813. 

This government remained intact insofar as Oklahoma is 
concerned until the first Monday in December, 1812. Up to this 
time no change had been made in its territorial area. 

Missouri Territory 

By an Act of Congress approved June 4, 1812, it was pro¬ 
vided : 

“That the Territory heretofore called Louisiana 


8 


Know Your Oklahoma 


shall hereafter be called Missouri, and that the tempo¬ 
rary government of the Territory of Missouri shall be 
organized and administered in the manner hereinafter 
described.” 

Section 2. 

“Be it further enacted, That the executive power 
shall be vested in a Governor who shall reside in the 
said territory; he shall hold his office during the term 
of three years, unless sooner removed by the President 
of the United States; shall be Commander in Chief of 
the Militia of said territory; shall have power to ap¬ 
point and commission all officers, civil and of the 
militia, whose appointment is not hereinafter other¬ 
wise provided for; shall take care that the laws be 
faithfully executed; shall have power on extraordinary 
occasions to convene the general assembly, and shall 
ex officio be superintendent of Indian Affairs.” 

The Act further provided: 

“That the judicial power shall be vested in a Su¬ 
perior Court, and in inferior courts and Justices of 
the Peace.” 

The Governor, Secretary, and Judges, and all general of¬ 
ficers of the militia were to be appointed and commissioned 
by the President of the United States. 

This Act further provided for a legislative body to be 
chosen by the people, and for a delegate to the Congress of the 
United States. This was the first provision giving the people 
the right of representation in law making bodies. 

This Act also provided that the laws in force in the Terri¬ 
tory of Louisiana at the Commencement of the act, and not 
inconsistent with the provisions thereof, should continue in 
force until altered, modified or repealed by the general assembly. 

Frederick Bates was appointed first Governor of the Ter¬ 
ritory of Missouri. He served only a part of one year, and 
was succeeded by William Clark, who continued as Governor 
until the admission of Missouri as a state in 1820. 

Thus each of the two great leaders of the Lewis-Clark Ex¬ 
pedition served as Governor of the Territory of Missouri, and 
as Governors of Oklahoma while it was a part of that territory. 

Arkansas Territory 

No further change occurred in our legal status until the 
4th day of July, 1819. This was brought about by the Act of 
Congress, approved March 2, 1819, creating the Territory of 
Arkansas. The first section of the Act provided: 


Know Your Oklahoma 


9 


“That from and after the 4th day of July next, 
that part of the Territory of Missouri which lies south 
of a line beginning on the Mississippi River, at 36 de¬ 
grees north Latitude, running thence west to the River 
of Saint Francis; thence up the same to 36 degrees 
30 minutes north latitude; and thence west to the west¬ 
ern territory boundary line; shall, for the purpose of 
territorial government, constitute a separate territory, 
and be called the Arkansas Territory.” 

Thus all of what is now Oklahoma, except the Panhandle, 
and the “Cherokee Outlet,” became a part of the Arkansas Terri¬ 
tory. The Act further provided: 

“That there shall be established in the said terri¬ 
tory of Arkansas, a temporary government to consist 
of three departments, the executive, the legislative, 
and the judiciary.” 

The capital of the territory was fixed at Arkansas Post 
on the Arkansas River. It continued the laws theretofore in 
force by the following provision: 

“That all the laws which shall be in force in the 
Territory of Missouri on the 4th day of July, not incon¬ 
sistent with provisions of this Act, and which shall 
be applicable to the Territory of Arkansas, shall be 
and continue in force in the latter territory, until 
modified or repealed by the legislative authority there¬ 
of.” 

So that up to this time, and until our final severance from 
Arkansas Territory, we had an unbroken line of legal suc¬ 
cession tracing back to the laws enacted by the Governor and 
Judges of Indiana Territory. 

Until the Act of Congress, May 26, 1824, all of Oklahoma, 
except the Panhandle, and the Cherokee Outlet, remained a 
part of the Territory of Arkansas and subject to the laws in 
force in that territory. 

This Act provided: 

“That the western boundary line of the Territory 
of Arkansas shall begin at a point forty miles west of 
the southwest corner of the State of Missouri and run 
south to the right bank of the Red River, and thence, 
down the river, and with the Mexican boundary, to 
the line of Louisiana.” 

The boundary thus fixed ran a litle east of the present city 
of Muskogee, extending north and south across the state. 


10 


Know Your Oklahoma 


It is peculiar that all that portion of Oklahoma west of this 
line was left without government of any kind. 

The succession of chief administrative officers or gover¬ 
nors of Oklahoma through the successive changes above out¬ 
lined are as follows: 

When we took possession of the Louisiana Purchase, Pres¬ 
ident Jelferson appointed William C. C. Claiborne Acting Gov¬ 
ernor General and Intendant of Louisana. Amos Stoddard was 
made First Civil Commandant of Upper Louisiana which in¬ 
cluded Oklahoma, William Henry Harrison as Governor of In¬ 
diana Territory became Governor of the District of Louisiana 
from 1804 to 1805. James Wilkinson was Governor of the 
Territory of Louisiana from 1805 to 1807, but a part of that 
time was absent and Joseph Browne as Territorial Secretary, 
became Acting Governor and his successor, Frederick Bates 
also became Acting Governor for a short time in 1807. 

Meriwether Lewis was Governor from 1807 to 1809. Ben¬ 
jamin Howard from 1810 to 1813, and when it became the Ter¬ 
ritory of Missouri Frederick Bates was Acting Governor for 
a part of 1813. William Clark was Governor from 1813 until 
the Territory of Arkansas was cut off and on March 3, 1819, 
James Miller became our first Governor as a part of Arkansas 
Territory and continued to December 1, 1924, when Robert 
Crittenden became Acting Governor until March 1825. He was 
succeeded by George Izard, who was our Governor from March 
4, 1825 until, by the Cherokee Treaty of 1828, we were cut off 
from the Territory of Arkansas. 

In this period the original population of the country, most¬ 
ly French, was transformed from their allegiance to the French 
Government to a love for and loyalty to our own government 
and its institutions. Also the ever westward movement of our 
pioneer population gradually began the settlement of the new 
country and the great empire to the west of the Mississippi 
began to take form as a part of our body politic. 


CHAPTER II 


An Indian Country 

The second period may properly begin with the treaty 
between the United States Government and the western Cher- 
okees approved May 6, 1828, and made effective by proclama¬ 
tion May 28, 1828, by the terms of which the boundary of Ark¬ 
ansas Territory was moved east from the former boundary line 
running north and south from Kansas to Red River and a few 
miles east of Muskogee to the present boundary of the state of 
Arkansas. 

The western Cherokees were that part of the tribe that 
had broken away from the great body of the Cherokees in Geor¬ 
gia and Tennessee and had before been granted a domain between 
the Arkansas and White Rivers in Arkansas Territory, and had 
occupied that part of the country up to the date of the treaty. 

The United States Government had by this time (1828) 
conceived a policy of segregating the Indians from the whites 
and locating them where they would not be included within any 
white man’s government. 

By successive treaties with the Cherokees, Choctaws, 
Chickasaws, Creeks and Seminoles, these tribes were ceded 
lands in what is now Oklahoma in exchange for their lands east 
of the Mississippi River, and were removed to their new do¬ 
mains. 

The western Cherokees voluntarily removed in 1828, the 
year of the treaty, and in the same year the first migration of 
Creeks consisting of about one thousand, made their way to 
what is now Oklahoma and settled near the town of Ft. Gibson. 
Between this time and the year 1840, most of the Indians of the 
Five Civilized Tribes had been removed to and settled in their 
new homes. These Indians had already made considerable prog¬ 
ress in civilization. Indeed some of them had been well edu¬ 
cated in the schools in the East. The Cherokee, Sequoyah, had 
invented his famous alphabet and practically the whole Chero¬ 
kee Tribe could read and write the Cherokee language. 

From the treaty of 1828, until the Act of Congress, June 
30, 1834, the people of this country, other than Indians, were 
wholly without a government of any kind, and no laws either 
of the United States or of any state or territory were applicable 
to them. 

Section one of this Act provided that all that part of the 
United States west of the Mississippi and not within the State 
of Missouri, Louisiana or the Territory of Arkansas—for Che 

(ii) 


12 


Know Your Oklahoma 


purpose of this act he taken and deemed to be the Indian 
Country. 

The Act prohibited the sale of any ardent spirits or wine 
to an Indian and the introduction of any such spirits into, or 
the manufacture of any ardent spirits within the Indian Coun-. 
try and provided penalties for violation. 

It further provided that all of the Country within what is, 
now Oklahoma, “for the sole purpose of carrying this Act into, 
effect, shall be annexed to the Territory of Arkansas.” It fur¬ 
ther provided “That so much of the laws of the United States, 
as provided for the punishment of crimes committed within any, 
place within the sole or exclusive jurisdiction of the United 
States shall be in force in the “Indian Country”; provided “that 
the same shall not extend to crimes committed by one Indian, 
against the person or property of another Indian.” 

Thus a limited code of laws became operative here which, 
applied solely to the white population and to Indians who com¬ 
mitted crimes against white persons or with reference to their 
property. 

These laws were enforeible only by the courts in the Ter¬ 
ritory of Arkansas. The Act of Congress approved June 15, 
1836, admitting Arkansas as a state, made of that state one 
judicial district, and provided for only one Judge for that dis¬ 
trict and required him to hold two sessions of court annually 
at the seat of government which was Little Rock. 

This court thereby acquired jurisdiction of all of the state 
of Arkansas and, for the purpose of enforcing the laws in force 
in the Indian Country, had jurisdiction over all of Oklahoma, 
except the Panhandle. 

By an Act approved March 31, 1851, the western district 
of Arkansas was created with jurisdiction over this country 
and the Judge of the United States Court for the state of 
Arkansas, was required to hold two terms of court annually at 
Van Buren. 

On March 27, 1854, the Act of 1851 was amended and pro¬ 
vided that a Judge should be appointed for the western district” 
and also provided punishment of any white person setting fire 
to or attempting to fire any building in the Indian Territory be¬ 
longing to an Indian or any Indian setting fire to or attempting 
to fire any building belonging to a white person. 

This is the first use of the term “Indian Territory” in any 
law or treaty referring to the Indian Country and could have 
been properly used only with reference to the area included 
within the Indian Country and not to its governmental status. 

Judge Ringo, who had theretofore been Judge of the Dis¬ 
trict embracing all of Arkansas, held an occasional term of 


Know Your Oklahoma 


13 


<iourt in the western district, beginning in 1855, but no Judge 
for the western district was appointed until 1865, when Henry 
C. Caldwell was appointed by President Johnson. 

Up to this time there were so few white settlers in the 
Indian Country that the United States Court had little if any 
thing to do with enforcing such laws as were applicable, but 
the importance of that Act to us is that it remained in force 
until the admission of the state into the Union, insofar as the 
prohibition of introduction and sale of intoxicating liquors with¬ 
in the Indian Country. 

In the meantime, soon after their arrival, the Indian tribes 
set about the work of establishing homes in the new country, 
improving farms and developing a new social status. Some 
of them owned slaves when they came, others acquired slaves 
until at the outbreak of the Civil War there were considerable 
numbers of the tribes who owned slaves and used them as other 
planters of the South, to cultivate their lands. 

The progress of these Indians in developing the country and 
the creation and accumulation of wealth was almost as rapid 
as that of any other community of pioneers similarly situated 
with this exception, that because of their fear of the harm 
which would come to them by the intrusion of white settlers, 
they bitterly opposed the building of railroads through the coun¬ 
try and so far as was within their power, discouraged the settle¬ 
ment of white people within their several Nations. 

Each of the Five Tribes organized its own government and 
provided legislative bodies to enact laws therefor. These Gov¬ 
ernments designated themselves “Nations.” The Cherokee, 
Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muskogee or Creek, and the Seminole Na¬ 
tion. 

One feature common to each of these Indian Governments 
was that the land of each tribe was held in common, and there 
was no individual ownership of land in either. This must be 
made clear for the reason that the land tenure and the laws and 
customs of these nations regulating marriage and divorce, 
legitimacy of children and inheritance, the later treaties between 
the several tribes and the United States and the Acts of Con¬ 
gress relating thereto have affected tremendously the history 
of our state, and some of the most important governmental 
questions we have had to deal with arose out of them. These 
were conditions no other state in the Union had to cope with 
and provide for. 

Soon after the secession of the southern states and the or¬ 
ganization of the government of the Confederate States of 
America, these Indian governments made treaties with the Con- 


14 


Know Your Oklahoma 


federate States and quite naturally cast their lot with the states 
from which they came. However, a large portion of the Chero- 
kees and Creeks remained loyal to the United States Govern¬ 
ment so that the conflict between the Indians themselves became 
as bitter as that between the contending forces of the Union and 
Confederate armies. 

Most of the Indians were compelled to leave their homes. 
A majority of those who remained loyal to the Union removed 
into the state of Kansas, those who cast their lot with the Con¬ 
federacy refugeed into Texas or along Red River in the southern 
part of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations. The contending 
armies fought back and forth across their country indiscrimi¬ 
nately taking such livestock and other property as they had 
need for; bushwhackers and thieves pillaged and drove their 
cattle and horses out of the country until at the close of the war 
the country was desolated and its people impoverished. 

Up to this time very few white men had found their way 
into the Indian Nations. These being mostly licensed traders, 
blacksmiths and teachers, together with such soldiers as manned 
the several military posts maintained by our government and 
the government agents having business with the tribes. 

During this period the Indians had firmly established them¬ 
selves. The Cherokees and Choctaws had perfected the organ¬ 
ization of their government with published constitution and 
statutory laws; had established schools, organized churches 
and made considerable progress toward the development of the 
country. Quite a number of churches had established missions 
throughout the several Nations and were giving to the Indians 
the opportunities for education and religious instruction. 

Treaties had been affected between the several Nations, the 
United States and the warlike tribes to the west, such as the 
Comanches, Kiowas, Pawnees, Apaches, Cheyennes, Araphoes 
and other Indians of the plains. 

From the time of their settlement in what is Oklahoma to 
the outbreak of the Civil War the progress of these Indian 
peoples toward a high standard of civilization is perhaps with¬ 
out a parallel in all history. They were generally learning and 
practicing the pursuits of agriculture and stock-raising with 
marked success, some of them had become skilled as blacksmiths 
and mechanics, others had entered institutions of higher learning 
and engaged in the practice of medicine and law, some had 
established themselves as merchants and tradesmen, and quite 
a large number of them had developed outstanding ability in 
the science of government and had proved the qualities of real 
statesmen. That these Indian tribes should have been drawn 
into the bitter and destructive conflict which all but destroyed 


Know Your Oklahoma 


15 


them and which completely checked the orderly course of their 
self-development and changed the whole current of their na¬ 
tional and racial progress was one of the most harmful con¬ 
sequences of that war. 

Throughout this period the Indians had complete control and 
domination of the country. Their laws were the only laws en¬ 
forced and their governments were the supreme power of the 
land as it applied to their own citizens, and there were compar¬ 
atively no others. Such advancement as was made was of their 
own volition and along lines of their own choosing. It is the only 
example we have, or will ever have, from which to judge of the 
inherent ability of the aboriginal American Indians to attain 
to our own civilization and to adjust themselves to our manner 
of living and to our methods of self government. 

Their amazing advancement along these lines is proof pos¬ 
itive that they can, and will, attain the status of average Amer¬ 
ican citizens, and that a fair proportion of them will show out¬ 
standing ability in all lines of endeavor. 

They had easily turned to industrial pursuits, had amassed 
great wealth through their own efforts, had developed their gov¬ 
ernments to a remarkable degree of efficiency and had proven 
their ability to govern themselves adequately to their needs. 
They had established school systems and institutions of higher 
education than the common schools. They had worked out 
unique and effective methods of dealing with their criminal 
classes, for whom they provided a system of graduated, or pro¬ 
gressive punishment for crime. 

Some of their governments had no jails or penal institu¬ 
tions and no laws providing for appearance bonds. One charged 
with a crime, however grave, was told when to appear for trial. 
If convicted he was sentenced and the time fixed for the execu¬ 
tion of the sentence and, no matter how severe the punishment, 
whether it was to be stripes on the bare back or death, he was 
permitted to go his way until the time fixed. (So far as the 
writer has been able to learn, but one instance is known where 
one convicted failed to appear and submit to the penalty of the 
law. 

Some of these governments had no law to enforce civil con¬ 
tracts or the collection of debts, indeed one of them had a stat¬ 
ute forbidding any court to take jurisdiction of such an action. 
It being their belief that men could not be made honest by 
law. That it were better to leave them stand upon their honor. 

They met the expense of government without the levy of 
ad valorem tax. Their revenue was obtained from interest on 
funds due from our own government for lands ceded by the 


16 


Know Your Oklahoma 


tribes, from an excise tax charged traders on merchandise, sale 
of timber, grazing privileges and other sources. 

Some idea of the growing wealth of the Cherokee people 
may be had from the report of the Commissioner of Indian 
Affairs for the year 1865, in which he estimated fhaf during 
the last two years of the war more than three hundred thou¬ 
sand head of cattle belonging to the Cherokees were stolen and 
driven out of the country into the state of Kansas. 

The study of this period is important in that it gives to 
the student a better knowledge of these Indian peoples; for 
there yet remains something more than two hundred thousand 
of them who are a part of our permanent citizenship and who 
were a part of the composite citizenship which had to be con¬ 
sidered and provided for in the making of our state. These 
were the owners of practically all the real property in the east 
half of the state and the status of their ownership and their 
land titles had much to do with the structure of our laws and 
our plans for the fiscal affairs of the state. 

We are yet to deal with this large group of our population 
and whether they become a great and valuable asset to the state 

or a lasting liability depends on the proper understanding of 
them and of their possibilities. 


CHAPTER III 
Reconstruction 

The condition of the peoples of the Five Civilized Nations 
at the close of the Civil war was pitiful in the extreme. The 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs in his annual report for 1865 
said in part: 

“Now their country is one vast scene of desola¬ 
tion; houses burned, treasury robbed, fences and agri¬ 
cultural implements destroyed, cattle stolen and their 
former fields overgrown with weeds; and now they re¬ 
turn to their homes after an exile of years, destitute of 
almost everything to commence life anew, except per¬ 
sonal energy.” 

Under the Act of Congress approved July 5, 1862, their 
lands and annuities had been declared forfeited. They were 
desolate indeed. Their last remaining home declared forfeited, 
the debts due to them from our government repudiated, with 
no place on the face of the earth where they might find a wel¬ 
come or be accorded the privilege of citizenship. No such state 
of utter desolation has before or since engulfed a helpless peo¬ 
ple and in the future that lay before them there was no single 
ray of hope. 

That they survived this terrible ordeal proves conclusively 
that in this great race there is an inherent quality of courage 
that refuses to acknowlelge defeat or succumb to despair under 
any circumstances. 

Slowly the refugees returned from the north and south to 
the desolate country which had been their homes and while in 
this helpless condition our government sent its representatives 
demanding of the Indian peoples that they enter into new 
treaties under conditions and terms dictated by and all power¬ 
ful country to a helpless dependent people. Unler these cir¬ 
cumstances the treaties of 1866 were brought about. 

The United States Government was in need of some place 
upon which it could establish reservations and locate the In¬ 
dians of the plains and other tribes whose presence was undesir¬ 
able in the states and territories where then located. For that 
purpose the Creek and Seminole Nations ceded to the United 
States about one-half their lands which afterwards comprised 
a part of Oklahoma Territory, and the Choctaws and Chickasaws 
sold what was known as t?ie “Leased District.” 

They were compelled to accept their former slaves as citi- 
( 17 ) 


18 


Know Your Oklahoma 


zens of their several Nations and permit them to share in their 
lands and ^tribal property. 

These treaties brought into existence the class of our citizens 
known as “Freedmen.” Each tribe having its own, designated 
as “Cherokee Freedmen,” “Choctaw Freedmen/ etc., according 
to the tribe of which they became a part, which was determined 
by the tribal blood of their former owners. 

The status of the title to lands allotted to these Freedmen 
was fixed by later treaties and acts of Congress, and at the time 
of the admission of our state, and since, the “Indian Freedmen” 
have had an important place in the attention of lawmakers and 
in court litigation. 

Also they were compelled to consent that rights-of-way 
might be granted for the building of railroads across tneir 
country and to make other concessions which to them were 
wholy undesirable and which they would not have made but 
under the duress of direst extremity. These treaties also pro¬ 
vided that the Indians located within what is now our state 
might organize a territorial government for all, under the name 
of Oklahoma Territory. 

It was during the negotiation of these treaties that Judge 
Allen Wright, representing the Choctaw Nation, suggested the 
name of “Oklahoma” which was adopted and included therein. 
This was the origin of the name of our state. 

The survivors of the Five Tribes, singly and in little groups, 
had made their weary way back to their deserted homes and 
their devastated country. Each faction filled with bitterness 
against the other, in abject poverty, their lands forfeited, the 
annuities due them from the United States Government repu¬ 
diated, they faced a future utterly void of promise. 

Out of this chaos were evolved the Treaties of 1866, which 
again gave to them a definite status. Though a large portion 
of their lands had been taken from them they yet had a place 
they could call their home, of great natural resources, broad 
prairies and fertile land, and above all, they had a spirit uncon¬ 
quered and unconquerable. 

They immediately set about the reorganization of their 
governments and the rebuilding of their homes and the institu¬ 
tions which they loved. The spirit in which they went about 
the work of reconstruction was beautifully expressed by Wil¬ 
liam P. Ross, Chief of the Cherokees, at a General Council of 
the Cherokee People called at Tahlequah, shortly after the pro¬ 
mulgation of the treaty of 1866. 

The noted Chief, John Ross, who had continuously held the 
office of Principal Chief of the Cherokees from the time of the 
Union of the Eastern and Western Cherokees until his death, 


Know Your Oklahoma 


19 


died at Washington, D. C. during the Civil War and was suc¬ 
ceeded by his brother, William P. Ross. , 

When the conditions under which this address was made 
are understood, the character of the audience to which it was 
addressed and the results the speaker sought to attain are con¬ 
sidered, this speech is worthy to stand among the great orations 
of all time. Chief Ross said in part: 

“For the first time since the war we have met as 
friends and brothers. I most devoutly thank the Great 
Ruler of the Universe that it is my high privilege to 
address you as one people. 

I thank Him that amidst the carnage, the horror 
and desolation of those long, dark years of conflict, we 
have not been swept entirely from off the face of the 
earth. I thank Him that our existence as a community 
is not destroyed; that our Government is still main¬ 
tained ; and most earnestly do I trust that our present 
peace may continue unbroken; that our harmony may 
be firmly cemented; that the work of rebuilding our 
wasted homes and shattered fortunes may be pros¬ 
pered, and that our future prosperity may surpass our 
most earnest expectations. The measure of our suc¬ 
cess in time to come must depend to a great extent 
upon ourselves. We hold our fortunes in our own 
hands. If wise and prudent we shall be able, under 
the fostering care of the United States Government, 
to increase our means, multiply our numbers, enlight¬ 
en our people and fortify our position. Division of 
sentiment, degenerating into strife between persons, 
neighborhoods and parties, will produce .nothing but 
mischief, weakness and ultimate ruin. Our only hope 
is in that unity of feeling and action that we have of 
interest and destiny. That will give strength to our 
purposes, strength to our Government and institutions. 
Cherokees if you firmly resolve to become one people, 
you will become one; if you firmly resolve to stand to¬ 
gether, so will you stand, alike through good and evil. 

We are all possessors of a common inheritance, so let 
us enjoy it; we all have one interest—let us protect 
and defend it. Let us look forward to the pleasing 
landscape of the future, with its newly rising sun, its 
green plains, majestic hills and silvery streams and 
not back upon the dark valley of the past with its lost 
friends, blighted hopes and sad and fearful associa¬ 
tions. The error, the wrong, the violence, the inhu- 


20 


Know Your Oklahoma 


manity and the defeat, the patience, the suffering-, the 
heroism and the victory of the war have floated by us 
down the stream of time. We cannot snatch them 
back, we cannot change them. They have gone to 
swell the great volume of history. There they must 
remain; we may not forget them—we shall not lose 
their solemn lesson to us as a people, but no good can 
arise from discussing them, from repining over loss 
and defeat or exulting over victory and its trophy. 
There is enough else ahead to absorb our thoughts, to 
employ our hands and to call forth our highest exer¬ 
tions. Never did we have more to live for, to labor 
for and to gain.” 

In 1867, the Creeks adopted a constitution and organized 
their government. Shortly after the different Nations had com¬ 
posed themselves in their new surroundings, a constitutional 
Convention was called to meet at Okmulgee the Capitol of the 
Creek Nation, in September, 1870, to carry into effect the treaty 
provisions authorizing the formation of the Territory of Okla¬ 
homa and providing a government which should include all the 
Indian peoples. 

Not having what they considered a representative number 
at the September meeting, the delegates adjourned to meet 
again in December of the same year, and the tribes that had 
not been represented in the first meeting, were urged to send 
delegates to the second. 

At the December Convention a constitution for the pro¬ 
posed government was enacted and submitted to the different 
tribes for approval, but the constitution was never approved 
and it only serves as an interesting study of the kind of govern¬ 
ment which these Indian peoples believed would be best for 
them. It is reproduced in the appendix hereto. 

These delegates and their successors met in Annual Council 
at Okmulgee until 1878, continuing their effort to bring that 
government into being. 

This convention had little or no effect upon the general 
condition of the Indian Country, but in the same year it con¬ 
vened, two railroads acquired rights-of-way and built their lines 
into the Indian Nations. These were the Missouri Kansas & 
Texas, known as the Katy, and the Atlantic & Pacific, later to 
become a part of the Frisco system. The coming of these rail¬ 
roads was the beginning of the transformation of the Indian 
Country. 

The Katy from 1870-72 extended its line entirely across 


Know Your Oklahoma 


21 


the Cherokee, Creek and Choctaw Nations, entering Texas at 
Denison, furnishing the first railway outlet to the great empire 
of Texas. 

The Atlantic & Pacific entered from Missouri and extended 
its line to Vinita. Ten years later continuing its line to Red Fork, 
west of Tulsa, and in 1889, to Sapulpa. As had been foreseen 
by the Indians, the coming of the railroads brought the white 
people into their country, stations and towns were located, coal 
mines were opened up, merchants and tradesmen located and 
the disintegration of the Indian Nations began. 

There were no laws of extradition applicable to the Indian 
Country and criminals could here find a place of safety where 
they could not be reached for crimes committed elsewhere, and 
many such found their way into the country. 

Also there began to filter in from the surrounding states, 
farmers who had come to believe that the rich lands of the 
Indian Nations would soon be available for homes and hoped 
to find better opportunities than the older states afforded. 
These were usually of the poorer class. 

The laws of the different Indian Nations forbade the sale or 
leasing of their lands, but did permit the Indians to employ, or 
hire, non-citizens to work for them. The Indian employer pay¬ 
ing an annual permit for each person so employed. 

As before stated the lands of each tribe were held in com¬ 
mon but each individual Indian had the exclusive right to pos¬ 
sess and use all the land which he would improve and cultivate. 
Some ingenious person devised the scheme of having an Indian 
hire or employ a non-citizen to put in cultivation and improve 
a tract of land and, as pay for his labor, give him all that he 
could produce upon it for a term of years, usually from five 
to seven. This practice became general and the improvement 
of the country rapidly followed. 

Laws were passed by the councils of the several Nations 
limiting the number of cattle which might be owned by a non¬ 
citizen to five milk cows to each family, but the enterprising 
cattle men who came into the country, evaded this law, making 
deals with some Indian who permitted them to put the In¬ 
dian’s brand upon their cattle, and within a few years many 
white men were running large herds of cattle upon the open 
range. All of these contracts were dependent solely upon the 
honor of the parties to them as they could not be enforced in 
any court and were in fact in violation of law, but the writer 
knows of no instance in which an Indian failed to permit a 
farmer to enjoy the full benefit of the land he improved for 
the term agreed upon and no Indian who claimed for his own 


22 


Know Your Oklahoma 


the cattle which a white man really owned, but which bore the 
recorded brand of the Indian. 

The minerals beneath the surface belonging- to all the mem¬ 
bers of. the tribe in common, were leased by act of council ap¬ 
proved by the Secretary of the Interior, and the royalties from 
the coal mined was paid into the treasuries of the Nations. 

During this entire period to 1889, there were no laws in 
the Indian Country to enforce a civil contract or to enforce 
the payment of a debt. Yet the business of farming, stock 
raising and merchandising required the extending of credit and 
in the aggregate millions of dollars worth of merchandise was 
sold on credit and millions of dollars loaned to cattle men, both 
Indian and whites, where the honor of the debtor was the sole 
security. The records of those times will show that the loss 
from bad debts were proportionately about 20% of what it has 
been since courts were established and laws put in force for 
the protection of creditors. 

During the years 1885 and 1887, the Santa Fe built its 


road entirely across the western part of Indian Territory, en¬ 
tering south of Arkansas City, Kansas, and extending nearly 
due south to Red River and on to Galveston, Texas. In 1887, 
it built another line further west, extending across the Cherokee 
outlet. The first line mentioned passed through the unassigned 
lands which was included in the first opening. 

In 1887, the Frisco extended its line from Ft. Smith in a 
southwesterly direction across tfye Choctaw Country to Paris, 
Texas. In 1888 the Kansas & Arkansas Valley Railroad com¬ 
pleted a line from Ft. Smith, Arkansas, along the north side 
side of the Arkansas River to Wagoner, Indian Territory, and 
the following year extended it to Coffeeville, Kansas. 

Prior to 1889, the principal coal mining industries had 
developed in and around McAlester and that was the chief 
commercial center in all the Indian Territory. Ardmore had 
grown into a great cotton market, Muskogee was beginning to 
show considerable importance as a trading center and Vinita 
and Wagoner were perhaps next in importance. Tulsa had 
achieved a post office, but little more at this time The oil 
industry had not yet been heard of in Oklahoma. 

Fort Smith through its jobbing houses supplied the country 
with the greater part of its merchandise, though some came 
m from Paris and Sherman, Texas. There was not a single 
bank in ail country and the financing of merchants was 
mostly done from Ft Smith, the farmers in turn being fur- 
mshed credit through the local merchants. The cattle men 

business° ^' L ° U1S ^ Kansas 0lty for capital to finance their 


Know Your Oklahoma 


23 


The railroads were without legal regulation of any kind 
and charged exorbitant freight and passenger rates. Ten cents 
per mile was for a time charged for passenger fare and freights 
in proportion. Their service to the people was such as might 
be expected under these conditions. With no courts or other 
authority over them they so dealt with the people as to become 
the most thoroughly hated institution in the country. 

No title could be acquired to land by non-citizens and only 
right of occupancy, which might be terminated at any time, 
could be had, so that only temporary and makeshift improve¬ 
ments were made even in the larger towns, except such as were 
erected by Indians who saw the advantage of acquiring town 
property and in some instances these built substantial business 
houses. 

Even under these adverse conditions the pioneer settlers 
came in steadily increasing numbers. In 1880, there were little 
more than six thousand white residents in all of Oklahoma. At 
the close of the next ten years Dr. Bennett, the United States 
Indian Agent, in his annual report for 1890, estimated that 
there were one hundred forty thousand in the Indian Territory 
alone. 

They poured into the country facing privations and hard¬ 
ships, without legal right and none of the privileges of citizen¬ 
ship, clearing the forest, breaking out the prairies, 'sinking 
shafts and mining coal, developing a country in which they had 
no right, looking to the future with that courage and faith 
which has ever characterized the settlers of our frontier, and 
confident that the time would soon come when they might own 
homes in the land of the Indians. 

With the others also came the pioneer preacher with his 
Bible and hymn book in his saddle pockets, carrying the message 
of love and hope, preaching wherever he could find a group of 
hearers. He established churches and Sunday schools, officiated 
at weddings, ministered to the sick and needy, and buried the 
dead. 

As noted in Chapter Ijl, Henry C. Caldwell had, in 1865, 
been appointed Judge of the Western District of Arkansas with 
jurisdiction over the white people then living in the Indian Na¬ 
tions. He continued in office until 1872 and held his first term 
of court at Fort Smith, Arkansas, on the second Monday in 
May, 1871. 

In 1872 William Story was appointed judge of the western 
district of Arkansas by President Grant. He was a man of 
profligate habits and bad character, and the expenses of the 
court under fourteen months of his jurisdiction were more than 


24 


Know Your Oklahoma 


$400,000. The conditions became so bad that charges were pre¬ 
ferred against him and he resigned in 1874. 

Judge Caldwell of the eastern district of Arkansas was 
authorized to hold court in the western district until the ap¬ 
pointment of Story’s successor was made. Judge Isaac C. 
Parker was appointed, and convened his first term of court at 
Ft. Smith on the 10th day of May 1875. This was really the 
beginning of a government which affected white residents of 
what is now Oklahoma and it is indeed difficult for any person 
whose life has been spent under normal governmental admin¬ 
istration to understand the peculiar conditions under which it 
operated. 

Within the western district of Arkansas this was the or¬ 
dinary United States district court, in the Indian country, it 
was the sole government and the only lawful authority to which 
the white population was answerable. It furnished through 
its deputy Unitel States marshals the sole police power from 
Arkansas to the Panhandle of Texas and from Kansas to the 
Red River, and its only authority was the punishment of the 
few criminal acts prohibited by the acts of Congress in force 
here, and it was here wholly without civil jurisdiction. 

There was no law in this country to enforce a civil contract 
or to protect civil rights. No laws of extradition applied to this 
country and those who violated the laws of other states and 
could make their way into the Indian country were safe from 
punishment for those crimes. No white man was answerable 
to the laws of any Indian government. For a long time there 
was no appeal from the judgments of that court and Judge 
Parker was the absolute dictator and the only source to whom 
the residents of this country could look for protection of any 
kind. 

As early as 1873' the United States government had de¬ 
termined on an entirely new Indian policy. From 1828 to 1873 
the policy had been to permit the Indians to govern themselves, 
to work out their problems in their own way. All the tribal 
treaties had embodied that idea and indeed had included the 
solemn pledge of our government that the Indians should be 
forever guaranteed the right to govern themselves without the 
interference of the white man, and the Five Civilized Tribes 
had been assured by treaty promises that their country should 
never be included within the boundaries of any state or terri¬ 
torial government of our nation. 

The treaties of 1866, following this plan, provided for the 
organization by the Indians of a territorial government of and 
for their own people, and the Okmulgee Constitution was the 
result. As proof that, up to that time the United States intended 


Know Your Oklahoma 


25 


to carry out this policy, the United States Superintendent of 
Indian Affairs was sent to, and did, preside over the constitu¬ 
tional convention.^ 

With the coming of the railroads in 1870-72 and the con¬ 
sequent beginning of white intrusion into the Indian country a 
new theory began to shape itself and ultimately crystalized into 
a fixed policy of gradually breaking down and disintegrating 
the Indian governments and the tribal community ownership of 
lands, the preparation of the country for settlement and the 
absorption of the Indian peoples into the citizenship of our own 
government. 

As a result of this new policy our government discontinued 
its encouragement of the Indians to form a territorial govern¬ 
ment and became more lax in, its efforts to protect the Indian 
nations from the intrusion of white settlers. It began a more 
vigorous exercise of court jurisdiction over the Indian country 
and through the iron hand of Judge Parker’s court at Ft. Smith 
made the power of our government felt as the dominant force 
through all of what is now Oklahoma. 

While the legal jurisdiction of the United States court in 
Arkansas over the non-citizens of this country had existed since 
1855, its authority had actually been exercised only casually, if 
at all, until 1875 when Isaac C. Parker was appointed judge and 
began an administration of such vigor and determination that 
his court soon acquired a world wide reputation and his name 
became a household word throughout the nations. 

It must be recognized that such a court, administered by 
such a judge, was indispensable to the welfare of the country. 
The white intruders were not subject to the laws of any of the 
Indian Nations, and their constantly increasing numbers 
created a condition that required firm and unrelenting authority 
and discipline. 

One hundred and seventy-two persons- were tried and con¬ 
victed of capital offenses in this court and sentenced to death, 
nearly one hundred were hanged, and several thousand viola¬ 
tions of lower grades of crime were tried under his administra¬ 
tion. 

It was during this period that many of the most desperate 
outlaws of surrounding states found their way into the Indian 
nations, seeking a refuge from which they could not be removed. 
Some of them continued their lawlessness. The conditions of 
the country, and the inadequacy of deputy marshals at Ft. 
Smith tended to make crime easy, and often difficult of punish¬ 
ment. Desperados sometimes successfuly evaded arrest for years. 

A representative of one of the great daily newspapers in 
New York City spent some weeks at Ft. Smith studying this 


26 


Know Your Oklahoma 


state of affairs, and in his story of the situation used the ex¬ 
pression: “There is no God west of Fort Smith/’ and this 
became the generally accepted opinion of the Indian Nation 
among the people of the country at large. 

Naturally some of the Indians themselves became law¬ 
breakers. The Cherokees especially furnished some of the most 
desperate outlaws ever known in the Southwest. But the great 
majority of criminals were the white intruders who had come 
into the country unwanted and unbidden by the Indians. The 
Indians had with all the means at their command resisted the 
incoming of the whites; had opposed the building of railroads 
because they believed that with the railroads would come the 
white man. Their fears were proven to have been well-founded, 
and the correctness of their judgment was borne out by actual 
experience. 


CHAPTER IV 
Reservations and Ranches 


The development of the west half of the state was along 
entirely different lines. 

Having acquired title to the western half of the state under 
the treaties of 1866, the government at once began the work 
of laying out reservations and locating other Indian Tribes 
thereon. 

The Cheyennes and Arapahos, Wichitas and Caddos, Com- 
manches, Kiowas and Apaches, Pottowatomies, Iowas, Shaw- 
nees, Sac and Foxes, Kickapoos, Pawnees and other tribes were 
assigned lands and located on reservations cut out of the lands 
taken from the Five Civilized Tribes, leaving near the center 
a considerable area properly designated as the “unassigned 
lands,” for it was what remained after all the Indian tribes had 
been located and assigned their reservations. 

These Indian reservations were governed by resident agents 
and the Indians were kept in subjection by soldiers stationed 
at the several military posts in that country. 

The unassigned land, though claimed by the United States 
government, was not subject to homestead entry and there was 
but slight progress made by the reservation Indians in agri¬ 
culture, industry or education. 

The story of the passing of the buffalo, of the establish¬ 
ment of the cattle trails across this country and the continuous 
movement of almost countless herds of cattle from Texas to 
the railroad markets in Kansas has been so often told that 
practically every reader is familiar with it and with the rapid 
development of the great cattle industry in the unassigned lands, 
and in the Cherokee strip leased by the Cherokee people for 
grazing purposes. Also the development of the theory that the 
unassigned lands were rightfully subject to homestead entry 
and the organization of the “Boomers” by Captain Payne and 
associates and their repeated efforts to force the recognition of 
these rights is also well known to the most casual student of 
Oklahoma history. 

Of the participants in these stirring events, other than the 
Indians and their descendants, only a small per cent made per¬ 
manent residents of Oklahoma. The agents and other officials 
who administered governmental affairs, came under appoint¬ 
ment and returned to the homes whence they came. 

The warring tribes of the plains had been subdued and 
settled on their reservations cut out of the land acquired from 

( 27 ) 


28 


Know Your Oklahoma 


the Five Civilized Tribes. These reservations, the unassigned 
land and the great Cherokee Strip extending west from the Osage 
Nation was a great sea ot luscious grass, well watered and ideal 
fo^ cattle raising. Traders and settlers licensed by the govern¬ 
ment to trade on these Indian reservations, some government 
officials connected with the Indian service, and others claimed 
the right to graze cattle on the Indian reservations. They went 
beyond this, assumed and exercised the right to lease grazing 
privileges on Indian reservations to others, and protected cattle 
men from Texas and elsewhere in grazing thousands of cattle 
upon these Indian reservations, especially the Cheyenne- 
Arapaho. For this the Indians received nothing. 

The Cheyenne-Arapaho Cattle Company was organized by 
Major Calvin Hood of Kansas. 

This practice became so obnoxious to the Indians of the 
reservation that serious trouble threatened, and in 1885 Presi¬ 
dent Grover Cleveland issued a proclamation removing all the 
cattle from the Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation. 

No Cherokees had settled in the Cherokee strip, and their 
nation leased this great grazing ground to cattle men, charging 
a fixed price per head for grazing cattle there. Many large 
ranches were located, and vast herds of cattle soon occupied 
the strip. 


It was difficult for the Cherokee government to properly 
check the cattle grazed by many different owners, and in 1883 
the cattle men interested organized the Cherokee Strip Live¬ 
stock Association, with headquarters at Caldwell, Kansas. 
Thereafter this association leased all of the Cherokee strip and 
apportioned it out to the different ranchmen. The cattle grazed 
in the strip were required to be branded, and the brand of each 
owner was recorded both by the Association and the Cherokee 
government. The cattle business became the outstanding in¬ 
dustry of the western part of the state. 

The cowboys who conducted the great trail herds across 
the plains and most of those who engaged in the cattle business 
of those times have long since passed to other fields of activity, 
but there is one little group of brave and intrepid pioneers who 
did remain and, of whom mention should be made. Those are the 
settlers of the Panhandle, that strip of country known as “No 
Man’s Land.” It was formerly a part of the Spanish posses- 
Sion on this continent then a part of the Republic of Mexico, 
later the Republic of Texas. 

1 / in ,^ nort]l ? f . thirty-six degrees, thirty minutes 
north latitude by the provisions of the Missouri Compromise 
could not be admitted into the Union as slave holding territory’ 
so that the state of Texas upon its admission, July 4, 1845, fixed 


Know Your Oklahoma 


29 


its north boundary at latitude thirty-six, thirty, leaving this 
strip unannexed to any state or territory, and the people who 
occupied it until it was made a part of Oklahoma Territory by 
the Act of Congress 1890, lived through those forty-five years 
without government of any kind. 

The words of a song often heard among the pioneers of 
those days— 

“Pickin up chips to keep from freezin’ 

Pickin up bones to keep from starvin’ 

Pickin up courage to keep from leavin’ 

Way out west in No Man’s Land.” 

in some measure reflects the hardships of their existence, their 
tenacity and courage. 

There was little development of the country by the reserva¬ 
tion Indians, and they made but little advancement toward 
civilization under the administration of these reservations by 
government appointees. 

The reservation Indians, scattered ranchmen, cowboys and 
the few settlers in No Man’s Land practically made up the 
population of western Oklahoma until noon, April 22, 1889. 

Of that population, the settlers of No Man’s Land, and the 
Indians of the different reservations remained as a part of the 
permanent population of our state. A greater part of those 
engaged in the cattle and ranching business did not remain. 
As the country settled up and was devoted to farming that 
part of the population scattered to other fields. 


CHAPTER V 

Founding a New Commonwealth 

March 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 1889 were eventful days for the 
people of Oklahoma. On March 1st, the Congress of the United 
States approved the cession of lands by the Muskogee, or Creek 
Nation, to the United States. This definitely settled the ques¬ 
tion of the title to that part of the Creek domain which had 
been ceded under the treaty of 1866, and which lies within the 
area that later became Oklahoma Territory. 

On the 2nd day of March Congress authorized the Presi¬ 
dent of the United States to open the lands known as “Unas¬ 
signed Lands” for settlement, and provided that sections 16 
and 36 of each township of the lands to be opened for settle¬ 
ment should be reserved for benefit of public schools. 

On the 3rd day of March, Benjamin Harrison, President 
of the United States, issued his proclamation opening the unas¬ 
signed lands for settlement and providing that “no person enter¬ 
ing upon and occupying said lands before the hour of twelve 
o’clock, noon, of the 22nd day of April, 1889, will ever be per¬ 
mitted to enter any of said lands or acquire any right thereto.” 

Through these acts, for the time being, the east and west 
sides of Oklahoma were definitely divided and for nearly twenty 
years their conditions were vastly different. 

Great throngs of people were, waiting for the signal guns 
to fire at noon of that day at which time the race for homes 
began. By night-fall it was estimated that more than a hundred 
thousand settlers had poured into that area and selected their 
homestead or town lots. 

In one day Guthrie became a city of fifteen thousand people 
and Oklahoma City more than ten thousand. Practically every 
quarter section subject to homestead entry was occupied. 
Though it was late in the season, many of the homesteaders 
broke out and planted some of the new land and attempted to 
raise crops. Dougouts and sod houses were by far the most 
common habitations. The people were without law or govern¬ 
ment until the act effective May, 1890. creating the Territory 
of Oklahoma. 

Soon after this first opening the government began the 
allotment of the reservation Indians and the opening of the 
unallotted portion of their reservations to settlement. 

In 1891, the Sac & Fox, Iowa, Pottowattomie and Shawnee 
reservations were opened. In 1892, the Cheyenne and Arapaho 
reservations were opened. In 1893, the Pawnee reservation and 
the Great Cherokee Outlet were opened for settlement. This 


Know Your Oklahoma 


31 


was the last and greatest race for homesteads in the history 
of Oklahoma Territory. 

In 1901, the Wichita and Caddo and the Commanche, Kiowa 
and Apache reservations were opened by lottery. Each home¬ 
stead entry being numbered and corresponding numbers were 
placed in a great barrel from which the home seekers had num¬ 
bers drawn for them and each was awarded the homestead 
corresponding in number to the one drawn for him. 

Each act of Congress providing for the opening of a new area 
within Oklahoma Territory reserved a portion of the lands from 
settlement and provided for the use of the reserved lands for 
educational purposes and for public buildings for the territory. 
These grants will be more fully explained later. 

By the act effective May 2, 1890. known as the Organic 
Act, a territorial government was provided for all of Oklahoma 
west of the Indian Nations. The Act provided that the Governor 
and Secretary of the Territory should be appointed by the 
president of the United States. It provided for a Supreme Court 
of three members, divided the territory into three judicial dis¬ 
tricts, and each member of the Supreme Court was authorized 
to convene and preside over district courts in each judicial 
district. 

In addition to the jurisdiction given these courts for the 
trial of cases arising under the territorial laws, they were also 
given jurisdiction as Circuit and District Courts of the United 
States. 

The laws also provided for the appointment by the Presi¬ 
dent of the Judges for these courts and of a United States at¬ 
torney and marshal for said territory. 

The county and legislative officials were elected by the peo¬ 
ple. Certain chapters of the laws of the state of Nebraska were 
extended to and put in force in the Territory of Oklahoma until 
after the adjournment of the first session of the legislative as¬ 
sembly of said territory. 

As soon as practicable after the approval of this Organic 
Act, a complete territorial government was organized and be¬ 
gan the work of administering public affairs. 

With the great endowment of public land for educational 
purposes, the people of the new commonwealth at once began 
the establishment of educational institutions and within a com¬ 
paratively short time had in operation the University of Okla¬ 
homa at Norman, the Agricultural and Mechanical College at 
Stillwater, the Colored Agricultural and Normal University at 
Langston, the Business Academy at Tonkawa, School for the 
Deaf at Sulphur, Central State Teachers College at Edmond, 


32 


Know Your Oklahoma 


Northwestern State Teachers College at Alva and the Southwest¬ 
ern State Teachers College at Weatherford. 

No penal institutions were established during the Terri¬ 
torial regime. The criminals convicted of felonies were trans¬ 
ported to prisons in the State of Kansas under lease contracts 
for their keep. 

As before stated, from the first opening date until the pass¬ 
ing of the Organic Act, May 2, 1890, no laws were effective in 
the newly settled country. Saloons were opened in every town, 
and in many instances, especially along the borders of the In¬ 
dian Country, saloons were opened far from any settlements. 

The first session of the legislature convened on the 27th day 
of August, 1890, and began the work of enacting laws for the 
new territory. As a Christmas present to the people, they 
passed an act which took effect the 25th day of December, 1890, 
authorizing the licensing of saloons and regulating the liquor 
traffic, and the sale of liquoc became one of the outstanding 
commercial pursuits of Oklahoma Territory, and so continued 
until the admission of the state. 

The fact that the sale of liquor was prohibited in all the 
Indian Nations, the settlement of the liquor question became 
one of the serious issue to be considered by the people in the 
Constitutional Convention, and at their first election in 1907. 

The material growth and advancement of the territory was 
phenominal. Railroads were built across it in every direction. 
Farms were rapidly improved and put in cultivation. Com¬ 
mercial and manufacturing interests kept pace with the indus¬ 
trial growth of the country, until in 1907 there were a number 
of important young cities and flourishing towns and a popula¬ 
tion of approximately three-fourths of a million people. 


CHAPTER VI 

Transformation And Disintegration 


The first and second days of March, 1889, were no less 
momentous to the east side of Oklahoma than to the west. In 
the same act of Congress that authorized the opening of the 
unassigned lands there was a provision for a white man’s court 
at Muskogee, in the Muskogee, or Creek Nation. This was the 
first actual intrusion of governmental agency on the part of 
the United States within the Indian country. 

From this time until the final disintegration of the Indian 
governments there was waged an unceasing, but hopeless contest 
between our government on the one side and the Indians of the 
several nations bitterly fighting for the right of self-government 
which had been sacredly pledged to them and for their racial 
existence with all the powers at their command. They fought 
every Congressional act and Departmental ruling tending to 
break down their institutions and to take from them little by 
little their right to direct and control the affairs of their coun¬ 
try and their people. But every battle was a defeat, and every 
contest resulted in another loss to the Indians. Until at last 
this proud and resourceful people was brought to realize that 
they must give up all that had meant so much to them, and to 
take an uncertain place as citizens of a government which had 
always dealt unfairly with them, and had made a record of 
broken pledges and violated treaties. 

Step by step, and with unrelenting purpose, our government 
assumed and exercised more and more authority and jurisdiction 
over Indian affairs, until the Indian governments were but empty 
shells, shorn of their vigor and strength, and finally completely 
dissolved. 

These successive steps are traced in this chapter. 

The act that created the court in Muskogee gave to that 
court only limited civil and criminal jurisdiction, but such juris¬ 
diction as it provided was to be exercised throughout the five 
Indian Nations, indeed through all Oklahoma except the Pan¬ 
handle. But because of the existing conditions in the west half 
of the state its jurisdiction was not actually extended thereto. 

This was the first actual break in the levee which had held 
back the threatening tide of white population that was soon 
to inundate the last home of the Indians. True it is that before 
that time there had been leaks and crevices through which a 
gradual filtering of intruders had come, but the establishment 
of this court was a definite declaration on the part of the United 
States that this was ultimately to be a white man’s country and 


34 


Know Your Oklahoma 


the seepage became a. vast tide of white population from all 
surrounding states. 

The same congressional act also provided for the appoint¬ 
ment of a commission to negotiate with the Cherokee Indians 
for the purchase of the Cherokee Outlet, and its cession by the 
Cherokees to the United States. This was accomplished success¬ 
fully and the greatest of all the openings followed shortly 
after. 

On the second day of March, 1889, an act of congress was 
approved which authorized the President to appoint a “Superin- 
tendant of Indian Schools” with prescribed duties and powers 
with references to all schools in which Indians were taught and 
to which the United States Government contributed. By this 
act began the control of educational affairs. 

On the third day of March, 1893, congress authorized the 
President to appoint a commission consisting of three members 


“to enter into negotiations with the Cherokee Nation, 
the Choctaw Nation, the Chickasaw Nation, the Musko¬ 
gee or (Creek) Nation: the Seminole Nation, for the 
purpose of the extinguishment of the national or tribal 
title to any lands within that territory now held by 
any and all of such nations or tribes, either by cession 
of the same or some part thereof to the United States, 
or by the allotment and division of the same in sev¬ 
eralty among the Indians of such Nations or tribes, 
respectively, as may be entitled to the same, or by such 
other method as may be agreed upon between the sev¬ 
eral nations and tribes aforesaid, or each of them, with 
the United States, with a view to such an ad¬ 
justment, upon the basis of justice and equity, as may, 
with the consent of such nations or tribes of Indians, 
so far as may be necessary, be requisite and suitable to 
enable the ultimate creation of a state or states of the 
Union which shall embrace the lands within said Indian 
Territory.” 

Other provisions of the act were:— 

“The consent of the United States is hereby given 
to the allotment of lands in severalty not exceeding 
one hundred and sixty acres to any one individual with¬ 
in the limits of the country occupied by the Cherokees, 
Creeks. Choctaws, Chickasaws and Seminoles; 

“And upon such allotments the individuals to 
whom the same may be allotted shall be deemed to be in 
all respects citizens of the United States ” 


act T ^ , was definitely made known to the world that 
the end of the Indian governments was now imminent, that the 


Know Your Oklahoma 


35 


Indian lands were to be divided, that individual ownership 
would take the place of tribal ownership; and that a state or ter¬ 
ritorial goverment was to be provided. 

In as much as the Indian reservations in Oklahoma Terri¬ 
tory had been allotted to the Indians of these reservations and the 
remainder of each reservation had been opened to homestead 
entry, it was but natural that the same procedure was con¬ 
fidently expected in the Indian Nations. The levy of treaty 
promises was thus wholly broken down and the flood of white 
population poured in without let or hindrance. 

By the Act of Congress March 1, 1895, the Indian Nations 
were divided into three judicial districts, two additional fed¬ 
eral judges were provided for and the jurisdiction of the United 
States Courts in the Indian country greatly enlarged. They 
were given complete jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to 
the rights of white persons within the Indian country and of 
all matters in which a white person was in any way interested. 

Also the United States courts were given jurisdiction of all 
matters in which a citizen of one Indian nation was involved 
in a controversy with a citizen or citizens of another Indian 
nation. 

From that time on the United States court began the exer¬ 
cise of jurisdiction over matters wholly concerning Indians 
and in which no non-citizen was involved. 

More of the laws of the State of Arkansas were made ef¬ 
fective and a system of local and federal laws was put into 
operation, administered by the United States courts in the 
Northern, Central and Southern districts of the Indian Terri¬ 
tory. All officers were appointive and the people themselves 
had no voice in their government, except when called for jury 
service in the various courts. 

The Indian governments continued to administer most of 
their own affairs, their legislative bodies continued to make 
laws and their courts to enforce them and their several admin¬ 
istrative governmental branches continued to function. 

The President of the United States, then Grover Cleveland, 
under the Act of March 3, 1893, above mentioned, appointed 
Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts chairman and Archibald S. 
McKennon of Arkansas and Meredith H. Kidd of Indiana as 
members of the Commission authorized under the Act, and it 
was thereafter known as “The Dawes Commission.” 

By Act of March 2, 1895, the Commission was increased to 
five members. 

By Act of June 10, 1896, the power of the Dawes Commis¬ 
sion was increased, and the right which had theretofore existed 
in each of the Tribes to regulate and determine its membership 


36 


Know Your Oklahoma 


was taken from the Indian nations and given to the Dawes Com¬ 
mission, and from that time on it had the right to determine who 
were the citizens of any tribe. _ 

Appeals from the decision of the Commission to the United 
States district court was provided. 

Later additional authority was given to the Commission, 
and appeals from the Commission to the United States Supreme 
Court was provided for. 

This Commission worked so efficiently that within a few 
years treaties had been consummated with all of the five tribes, 
by the terms of which the dissolution of the tribal governments, 
the allotment of their lands in severalty, the division of tribal 
funds were agreed upon, and the conditions under which these 
changes were to be made were outlined. 

On June 28, 1898, the Act of Congress known as the “Curtis 
Bill” became effective. This brought about the most revolu¬ 
tionary changes in the status of the citizenship and property 
rights of the several nations that had so far been made. It 
provided that the sites occupied by the people of the country 
as towns, of more than 200 residents, should not be allotted, but 
provided for townsite commissions in each town, to consist of one 
member to be appointed by the executive of the nation in which 
the town was located, one member to be appointed by the Sec¬ 
retary of the Interior, and one member to be selected by the 
town, who should cause the townsite to be surveyed with proper 
and necessary streets and alleys, giving to each town such ter¬ 
ritory as might be required for its present needs and reasona¬ 
ble prospective growth. To appraise the town lots so laid off, 
and platted, and the improvements thereon, the appraisement 
to be approved by the Secretary of the Interior. 

The owner of improvements on any town lot could acquire 
title thereto by depositing in the United States Treasury at St. 
Louis, Missouri, one-half of the appraised value. All lots not 
claimed by the owner of the improvements and all vacant lots 
in the townsite were authorized to be sold, after due notice, to 
the highest bidder at public auction, but not for less than the 
appraised value. Deeds to the lots to be executed by the member 
of the Commission appointed by the Nation. 

This was the first provision ever made by which a non¬ 
citizen could acquire title to real property within the Indian 
Territory. 

The Act also provided for the incorporation of towns, for 
the organization of town governments and the election of offi¬ 
cials therefor by the people, and this was the first form of self- 
government by the people. 

It provided for the organization of free schools, and the 


Know Your Oklahoma 


37 


levy of a tax against the property of residents within towns for 
their maintenance. This was the first provision for schools for 
non-citizens and the first tax law ever enacted within the five 
nations applicable to white citizens. 

The Curtis Bill also took from the Indian Nations their 
right to divide the tribal property among the members of the 
tribe, and invested this authority in the Dawes Commission, and 
gave it the right to survey, appraise and- allot the landed prop¬ 
erty of the several tribes. 

This Act provided that all oil, coal, asphalt and mineral 
deposits under the lands of any tribe were reserved to such 
tribe, and no allotment of such lands should carry the title 
to such oil, coal, asphalt or mineral deposits. 

The funds derived from the sale of town lots, the oil and 
other minerals to be held for the collective benefit of the entire 
tribe, and distributed to the individual members pro rata. 

The townsite funds were so distributed later, but by sub¬ 
sequent Acts of Congress the oil and mineral rights, except as 
to certain areas of the Choctaw Nation, which were segregated 
as coal lands and never allotted to the members of the tribe, 
were also divided in severalty and the mineral rights conveyed 
with the surface allotments. The surface of the lands segre¬ 
gated from the Choctaw Nation as coal lands was afterwards 
sold, the money distributed and the coal deposits yet remain 
tribal property, undivided. 

The wording of the several Acts and agreements relating 
to mineral rights since the passage of the Curtis Act, so far as 
they relate to the Seminole Nation, have been such that a suit has 
been instituted and is now pending in the United States court 
in which it is contended that the mineral rights of the Seminole 
Nation never passed to the allottees individually, but that the 
mineral rights remain tribal property and are owned by the 
citizens of the Seminole Nation in common; it being urged that 
the provisions of the Curtis Bill, insofar as they apply to the 
Seminole Nation, have never been changed or abrogated and 
that the allotments made were subject to those provisions. 

There having been developed in Seminole County, which 
was originally the Seminole Nation, one of the greatest oil fields 
in the Southwest, this controversy involves many millions of 
dollars in property value. 

In the agreements with the several tribes looking to the 
ultimate allotment of their lands, one of the terms common to 
all was, in substance, that the lands allotted to members of the 
tribes should be and remain non-taxable for a period of 21 years 
or so long as the title remained in the allottees. This was one 
of the important matters to be considered at the time of the 


38 


Know Your Oklahoma 


admission of the state into the Union, and has materially affected 
the development of the state. 

When it became certain the tribal governments were to be 
abolished and that a territorial or state government would su¬ 
percede them, the question of the character and kind of govern¬ 
ment to be instituted became one of paramount importance to 
the people. The residents of Oklahoma territory were clam- 
ering for statehood. The leading and most influential members 
of the five tribal goverments, while opposed to territorial or 
statehood government, recognized the fact that it was inevitable, 
but they were bitterly opposed to any movement that looked 
toward the admission of the two territories as one state, they 
believing that in such a government their identity and influ¬ 
ence as a race would be lost and submerged in the greater 
number of white citizens. If a change must come they wanted 
a state composed of the area included in the five nations in 
which they hoped to be a dominant influence. 

In every session of Congress legislation was proposed look¬ 
ing to the admission of the Indian country and Oklahoma ter¬ 
ritory into the Union on some terms, and throughout what is 
now Oklahoma statehood became the engrossing subject of dis¬ 
cussion. Conventions were assembled, meetings were field, and 
the public press was filled with discussions advancing different 
theories and views, and everywhere it was the matter of most 
vital interest to the people. 

In 1905, what was known as the Omnibus Bill, providing 
for the admission of New Mexico and Arizona as a state, and 
Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory as another, was in¬ 
troduced. Arizona bitterly resisted union with New Mexico, 
and the Indian Territory objected to admission with Oklahoma 
Territory. 

A great convention was held in Delmar Garden in Okla¬ 
homa City, July 12, 1905, to urge upon Congress the separation 
of the Oklahoma question from that of Arizona and New Mexico 
and the admission of Oklahoma and Indian Territory as one 
state. 


How long the bitter fight between the advocates of single 
and double statehood would have continued can only be a matter 
of speculation but for the intervention of an ill-considered call 
tor a constitutional convention issued bv Jas A Norman a 
Cherokee citizen, on the 7th day of August, 1905, the convention 
to be assembled at Muskogee August 21st of that year. It is 
practically certain that this call would have had no real results 

but for the fact that C. N. Haskell, of Muskogee, who had been 
for several years engaged in the business of railroad construction 
and townsite promotion, and who became the first Governor of 


Know Your Oklahoma 


39 


Oklahoma, noticed the call and at once became interested. 

The call for a convention, as published, bore only the sig¬ 
nature of W. C. Rogers, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Na¬ 
tion, Green McCurtain, Governor of the Choctaw Nation, and 
J. A. Norman, who signed as “Secretary of call.” 

Mr. Haskell at once called on Chief Pleasant Porter of the 
Creek Nation, and suggested that a call should be issued by the 
executive officers of all five nations. To this Chief Porter 
agreed, and at Mr. Haskell's suggestion sent a telegram to each of 
the executive officers of the other nations requesting them to 
come to Muskogee. In response to this telegram a meeting was 
held in the Turner Hotel in Muskogee, at which Chief Porter 
of the Creeks, Chief Rogers of the Cherokees, Governor Green 
McCurtain of the Choctaws, Governor Brown of the Seminoles, 
and Hon. Wm. H. Murray, as representative of Governor John¬ 
son of the Chickasaws, were present. Mr. Norman, who issued 
the first call, was also at the meeting. A new call for a conven¬ 
tion was made by four of the governors, Mr. Murray not as¬ 
suming to take that responsibility for the Chickasaws. 

The importance of this meeting, as affecting the history of 
Oklahoma, cannot be understood without relating some circum¬ 
stances attending it which so far have never been generally 
made known. 

Every Indian of the five nations was bitterly opposed to 
single statehood, that is, a state in which both Oklahoma and 
Indian Territory should be admitted as one, and their chief 
executive officers, and all other representatives of the tribal 
governments at Washington, had strenuously contested all leg¬ 
islation looking to the creation of such a state. From their ex¬ 
perience at Washington they recognized the futility of any ef¬ 
fort for the passage of legislation admitting the Indian territory 
as a separate state. 

In this conference it was agreed by all that the only possible 
hope for the creation of a state from the Indian Nations lay in 
the adoption of a constitution by the people such as would im¬ 
press Congress with its fairness to all classes of citizens and all 
business interests within the proposed state, and demonstrate 
that the people were in fact capable of organizing a stable and 
satisfactory government for themselves, and, following the ex¬ 
ample of California adopt and offer a constitution to Congress 
for its approval. 

A serious obstacle in the way of doing this was, that to 
hold an election for delegates to the constitutional convention, 
pay the expenses of the convention itself and the delegates for 
their services, to pay for the publicity necessary to properly 
submit the constitution to the people and hold an election for 


40 


Know Your Oklahoma 


its ratification, would require a large sum of money. The heads 
of the several Indian governments knew that there were no 
funds available for such purposes, and that Congress would 
not authorize the payment of such expenses from any tribal 
funds. 

After considerable discussion, Mr. Haskell proposed to the 
heads of the several Indian governments that if they desired to 
make such an effort for the creation of a state government, he 
would finance the proposition in consideration that, if the plan 
ultimately failed and Congress finally refused to approve a con¬ 
stitution so prepared and adopted, the Chiefs and Governors of 
the several tribes would then withhold any further objection 
to the admission of both territories as a single state. This was 
agreed upon and a written contract to that effect was drawn and 
signed by the parties, and a call for the election of delegates to 
a constitutional convention was sent out. 

As a result the Sequoyah convention was held, a constitu¬ 
tion was written, submitted to the people and adopted by them 
by an overwhelming majority, was presented to Congress for 
its approval, and was rejected. 

The heads of the tribal governments lived up to their agree¬ 
ment and thereafter made no further resistance to single state¬ 
hood. 

(The proposed state was named Sequoyah, and the consti¬ 
tution prepared at this convention is set forth in the appendix 
hereto.) 

With the objection of the Indians withdrawn, the Enabling 
Act was passed and approved June 16, 1906, providing for the 
election of delegates to a constitutional convention to construct 
a constitution for the state of Oklahoma. 


CHAPTER VII 
Making a State 

The Enabling Act authorizing the people of Oklahoma, 
through their chosen delegates, to prepare and submit for adop¬ 
tion a constitution for the state of Oklahoma, was not only a 
warrant of authority to the people, but was an act of limitation, 
limiting their powers and fixing certain conditions winch must 
be complied with. The last section of the Act provided: 

“That the constitutional convention provided here¬ 
in shall, by ordinances irrevocable, accept the terms 

and conditions of this act.” 

The name “Oklahoma” was fixed by Congress in this Act. 
It may be interesting to note that of the states admitted into 
the Union since the organization of the original thirteen colo¬ 
nies, the acts authorizing their admission permitted the follow¬ 
ing “to assume such name as they may deem proper”:—Alabama, 
Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio. 

The following states had not waited for the passage of an 
enabling act, but first selected their delegates, adopted their 
constitutions and named themselves, and the constitutions so 
adopted were accepted by Congress and the states admitted: 
Iowa, California, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ore¬ 
gon, West Virginia and Wyoming. 

As in Oklahoma, the following states were named by Con¬ 
gress in the act authorizing their constitutional conventions and 
admission: Colorado, Montana, North and South Dakota, Wash¬ 
ington, Nebraska, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Tennessee, 
Utah and Wisconsin. 

Congress left Arkansas and Minnesota free to name their 
own states by including no provision regarding the name. Texas 
being a free Republic, was admitted by treaty and of course 
retained its own name. 

It is probable that Congress fixed the name for Oklahoma 
in the belief that some contention might arise between the two 
territories being joined, as to the name. The east side having 
chosen Sequoyah in their constitutional convention. , 

The Enabling Act made certain constitutional provisions 
mandatory. Thus the framers of the constitution were com¬ 
pelled to make provision: 

1. That perfect toleration of religious sentiment Should 
be secured. 

2. The manufacture, sale or distribution of intoxicating 

( 41 ) 


42 


Know Your Oklahoma 


liquor should be prohibited within that part of the state known 
as Indian Territory and the Osage reservation, and all other 
Indian reservations existing on the first day of January, 1906, 
such prohibition to extend for a period of twenty-one years 
from the admission of the state into the Union and thereafter 
until the people should amend the constitution. 

3. The state should forever disclaim all right and title 
to unappropriated public lands within its boundary and to all 
lands owned and held by any Indian tribe or nation, leaving to 
the United States complete jurisdiction of the disposition and 
control thereof. That land belonging to residents of the United 
States non-resident within Oklahoma should never be taxed at 
a higher rate than land belonging to resident citizens thereof. 

4. That the debts and liabilities of Oklahoma Territory 
should be assumed and paid by the state. 

5. That a system of non-sectarian public schools should 
be established and maintained, open to all of the children of the 
state. That said schools should always be conducted in English. 
But permitted the establishment of separate schools for white 
and colored children. 

It made one prohibitory requirement: 

“That the state should never enact any laws re¬ 
stricting or abridging the right to suffrage on account 
of race, color or previous condition of servitude.” 


It provided for the election of 112 delegates. 55 of the 
delegates were to be elected by the people of Oklahoma Terri¬ 
tory, 55 from the Indian Territory, and 2 by the residents of 
Osage country. 

The bill appropriated $100,000.00 to defray the expenses 
of electing delegates and holding the convention. 

The act set aside Sections 16 and 36 in each township in 
Oklahoma Territory to the state for the use and benefit of 
common schools, and because there was no public lands in the 
Indian Territory subject to this provision, the Bill appropriated 
$5,000,000.00 for the use and benefit of the common schools of 
the state m lieu of Sections 16 and 36 of the Indian Territory. 
It set aside Section 13 of each township in the Cherokee outlet, 
the Tonkawa Indian reservation and the Pawnee Indian reser 
vation for use and benefit of the University of Oklahoma, and 
University Preparatory school, normal schools, A. & M College 
and the colored Agricultural Normal University. And further 
provided that the lands so reserved, or the proceeds of the sale 


Know Your Oklahoma 


43 


thereof, shall be kept or reserved and held by the state and that 
only the interest and income therefrom should be used. 

This bill also' set aside Section 33 in each township for 
charitable and penal institutions and public buildings. 

Thus we had an operating capital to begin with of some¬ 
thing more than 3,000,000 acres of land and $5,000,000.00 in 
cash as an endowment for public schools, education and charita¬ 
ble institutions and public building fund. 

We had a population of 1,414,177. This population was 
about equally divided between the two Territories, and in former 
chapters we have tried to give the reader some knowledge of 
the various classes making up this population. 

The election of delegates called forth a spirited and de¬ 
termined contest between the two dominant political parties, 
each seeking to secure a majority of delegates in the convention. 

There were at the same time a number of other well or¬ 
ganized groups within the state seeking constitutional pro¬ 
visions favorable to their interests and desires. 

The different labor organizations and the Farmers’ Union 
were then perhaps better organized and had larger member¬ 
ships than at any time since, and these groups were militant 
and persistent in their demands that provisions be written into 
the constitution favorable to tljeir classes. Questionnaires and 
demands were prepared and presented to each candidate for 
delegate, regardless of party affiliations. 

The final result of the election held November 6, 1906 
showed that there had been elected 99 Democrats, 12 Republi¬ 
cans and one Independent. 

The constitutional convention assembled November 20, 
1906 and Wm. H. Murray of Tishomingo, in the Chichasaw Na¬ 
tion, was elected President of the convention. 

In this constitutional convention were brought together 
delegates who had come from every section of the United States, 
each with his own preconceived ideas of what should be written 
into the constitution, and each determined to see that his ideas 
were included. 

This convention, and the first Legislature, were perhaps 
two of the most difficult bodies to unify and harmonize that 
have ever assembled for law-making purposes. Wm. H. Murray 
was also selected Speaker of the first House of Representatives. 
Henry S. Johnston was chosen President Protem of the Senate. 

Some of the great inequalities and differences of the two 
Territories which had to be considered and harmonized were; 

Oklahoma Territory had legalized open saloons; Indian Ter¬ 
ritory was dry and must remain so for at least 21 years. 


44 


Know Your Oklahoma 


Oklahoma Territory had established and equipped educa¬ 
tional institutions, Indian Territory had none. 

Practically all of the real property in Oklahoma Territory 
was taxable, but a very small part of th^at in the Indian Terri¬ 


tory was. 

The jealousies and enmities, the distrust and suspicion 
growing out of the years of contention as to the admission of 
the state into the Union were carried over into the convention. 

Oklahoma Territory had a system of laws built up through 
16 years of organized territorial government; the Indian Ter¬ 
ritory had the laws of six Indian governments, a part of the 
laws of the State of Arkansas, and the laws of the United States 
relating exclusively to what has been known as the Indian 
country. Property rights had become fixed under all of these 
systems, and eight different governments must now be amal¬ 
gamated into one. But it was done, and the people of Oklahoma 
were given a sound and constructive constitution, one far ad¬ 
vanced in some of its provisions beyond that of any other con¬ 
stitution in the Union. 

Oklahoma Territory had incurred indebtedness - and owed 
approximately $4,367,000.00, which the new state was bound 
to assume and pay, but it had in its treasury, which was later 
turned over to the treasury of the new state, funds amounting 
to $932,584.86. 


The Constitution as prepared by the delegates was submit¬ 
ted to the people at an election called by proclamation for Sep¬ 
tember 17, 1907. At the same election all the officers provided 
under the constitution were to be selected by the people. 

The Republican party denounced the constitution and op¬ 
posed its adoption. The Democrats naturally advocated its 
adoption, it being an instrument of their own creation. This 
was the first election in which the people of the proposed state 
had ever been permitted to express their choice for all the of¬ 
ficials that were to govern them and it was probably largely 
due to this reason and to their desire to thereafter choose those 
who should govern them, that the constitution was adopted by 
such an overwhelming majority. 

After its adoption by the people, the constitution was sub¬ 
mitted to the President of the United States for his approval 
and on the morning of the 16th of November, 1907, President 
Theodore Roosevelt signed the proclamation approving the con¬ 
stitution and admitting Oklahoma into the Union. The state 
county and township officials were sworn into office and state 
government became operative. 

But the preliminary work of state making was not com¬ 
pleted until the first legislature enacted a code of laws to make 


Know Your Oklahoma 


45 


the constitution fully operative, and to govern the people of the 
state. The first legislature convened at Guthrie on the 2nd day 
of .November, 1907. Of this first legislature 38 members of the 
Senate were Democrats, 5 were Republicans. Of the House of 
Representatives 93 were Democrats and 16 Republicans. All 
administrative officers of the state government were Democrats. 

In the tables and statistics hereinafter set forth, we shall 
endeavor to show the material progress of the state through the 
intervening years, the purpose being to show the comparative 
growth of government cost to the growth of the state in popu¬ 
lation and wealth, and as nearly as possible, where the increased 
governmental cost has been incurred and from what sources 
the money has been derived with which to pay therefor. 




























































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Part II 

Oklahoma History In Figures 














PART TWO 


Oklahoma History In Figures 


Part Two will consist largely of statistical matter relating to the gov¬ 
ernment of Oklahoma since its admission to the Union, the development of 
the state, and the cost of government. In it will be shown the tremendous 
increase in governmental agencies and institutions and the increased gov¬ 
ernmental cost as compared to the increase of population and material wealth. 

In two departments of the government it has been impossible to obtain 
complete authentic information; those are the department of highways, and 
the school land department. We have been compelled to omit any statistics 
as to highways other than the cost of highways solely within the jurisdic¬ 
tion of the county governments. And only meager information can be fur¬ 
nished as to the condition of the school fund and. school lands of the state. 

The compilation of most of the statistical material herein was under 
the supervision of the State University at Norman and it can be accepted 
as reliable. 

TABLE 1.—is a list of the state officers elected at the successive elections 
from 1907 to 1927 inclusive. All of these have been Democrats. Since 
statehood not a single Republican has been elected to a state executive 
office. 

TABLE 2.—shoiws the votes cast in each election since statehood by all 
parties. 

TABLE 3.—shows, (1) the educational institutions organized and in opera¬ 
tion in Oklahoma territory at the admission of the state; (2) the state 
offices provided by the constitution and elected at the first election; 
(3) the only governing Board in the state at that time. 

TABLE 4.—shows the state offices, schools, boards and commissions, ele¬ 
emosynary institutions, hospitals and asylums, and penal institutions 
added and created since statehood. 

TABLE 5.—shows the growth of population. 

TABLE 6.—shows the increase in property values as fixed for purposes of 
taxation. 

TABLE 7.—shows the agricultural production and farm value of the different 
farm crops raised in Oklahoma for the years shown on the table. 

TABLE 8.—shows the growth of manufactures. 

TABLE 9.—shows the output of crude oil, coal, lead and zinc produced in 
Oklahoma each year since statehood, with the value of same. 

TABLE 9-A.—show's the output of oil in barrels each year where records 
were available, since the discovery of oil in Oklahoma in 1891. This 
table, furnished by Chas. I. O’Neill, Secretary of the Independent Oil 
Association of Oklahoma. 

TABLE 9-B.—show's the mine production of lead and zinc ores in Oklahoma 
by tons, and the average value of them each year, and w 7 as furnished 

( 49 ) 



50 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


by M. D. Harbaugh, secretary of the Lead and Zinc Producers organ¬ 
ization. 

TABLE 10.—shows the number of banks, gross deposits, and number of bank 
failures since 1916. 

TABLE 11.—shows the railroad mileage and tax value of same for the years 
1914 to 1927 inclusive. 

TABLE 12.—shows the number of automobile registrations since 1920. 

TABLE 13. — shows the growth of telephone communication in the state 
since 1913. 

TABLE 14.—shows the increased value of assessed real estate property in 
the state, 1914 to 1926 inclusive. 

TABLE 15.—shows the increase in employees and officials of the state de¬ 
partments named in the table, and the increase in khe appropriations 
made for their compensation. 

TABLE 16.—shows the increase in appropriations for state government since 
the fiscal year 1909-1910. 

TABLE 17. — shows the sources from which the state receives its funds. 

TABLE IS. — shows the educational and penal institutions at the time of 
the admission of the state and the appropriations made for same for 
the first 19% months of state government; and following shows also 
the educational and penal institutions now in operation by the state 
and the appropriation for the same for the last fiscal year. 

TABLE 19.—shows the appropriations for the offices and departments of 
government for the 19% months following the admission of the state 
into the Union, and for the same offices and departments for the last 
fiscal year. 

TABLE 20.-—shows the comparative value of privately owned real and per¬ 
sonal property in the state and the value for tax purposes of public 
service property for the past three fiscal years. 

TABLE 21. — Ad valorem tax levies and income tax collections. 

TABLE 22.—Legislative appropriations. 

TABLE 23.- — State and Federal income taxes compared. 

TABLE 24.—Sources of State Income. 

TABLE 25.—Disbursement of Funds. 

TABLE 26. — Departmental Costs. 

TABLE 27.—Inventory State Property. 

TABLE 28.—Tax Rates and Valuation. 

TABLE 29. — Bond Issues. 

TABLE 30. — School Fund Securities. 

TABLE 31.—1928 Valuation. 

TABLE 32—1930 Population. 

TABLE 33.—Public Service Valuation. 

TABLE 34.—Cost of County Government, Highways and Common Schools. 

TABLE 35.—Scholastic Enumeration. 

TABLE 36.—TJ. S. Appropriations to Oklahoma. 


State Officers Elected 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


51 


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52 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


* NOTE TO TABLE 1 (State Officers Elected.) 

So far there has never been a Republican elected to one of the above state offices. 

Bill Cross, the first Secretary of State, died and Tlios. B. Smith was elected to suc¬ 
ceed him August 6, 1910. 

T. J. iMcComb, Insurance Commissioner, resigned and Milas Lasater was appointed to 
succeed him November 30, 1909. 

D. F. Harrison, Secretary of State, resigned and H. G. Oliver was appointed in (his 
stead January 2 V 1915. 

Leo Meyer, State Commissioner, resigned, and Tlios. C. McClellan was appointed to fill 
the vacancy February 12, 1913. 

C. A. Taylor, Examiner and Inspector, died and Fred Parkinson was appointed to suc¬ 
ceed him July 31, 1912. 

P. A. Ballard, Insurance Commissioner, resigned and A. L. Welch was appointed April 
29, 1913. 

The office of State Printer was abolished during the term for which Giles Farris was 
elected. 

W. G. Ashton, Commissioner of Labor 0 resigned and Claude Oonnally was appointed Aug¬ 
ust 8, 1917. 

S. B. Freeling, Attorney General, resigned. Geo. Short was appointed to fill the vacancy 
February 7, 1922. 

A. L. Welch, Insurance Commissioner, resigned and E. W. Hardin was appointed January 

1, 1920. 

J. C. Walton. Governor, was removed by impeachment, and succeeded by M. E. Trapp. 

E. W. Hardin, Insurance Commissioner, resigned. Jess G. Read was appointed January 

17, 1924. 

Fred Parkinson, Examiner and Inspector, resigned. Geo. J. Mechling was appointed. 

M. A. Nash resigned and Jno. S. Yaughan was appointed Superintendent of Public 
Instruction April 9, 1927. 

H. S. Johnston, Governor, was removed by impeachment, and succeeded by W. J. Hollo¬ 
way. 

Ed Dabney, Attorney General, resigned. J Berry King was appointed. 


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54 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


TABLE 3 

State Government Officials, Boards and Commissions, 1907 

Schools 

Agricultural and Mechanical College 
Agricultural and Normal University (colored) 

Business Academy 

Central State Teachers College 

Deaf, School for 

Northwestern State Teachers College 
Southwestern State Teachers College 
University of Oklahoma. 


State Officers 

Attorney General 
Auditor 

Bank Commissioner 
Chief Mine Inspector 

Commissioner of Charities and Corrections 

Commissioner of Labor 

Corporation Commission 

District Judges 

Examiner and Inspector 

Governor 

Insurance Commissioner 

Lieutenant Governor 

Secretary of State 

Superintendent of Public Instruction 

Supreme Court 

Supreme Court, Clerk of 

Treasurer 

Boards and Commissions 


Agriculture, Board of 


TABLE 4 

State Government Officials, Boards and Commissions Created Since 1907 


State Officers 

Adjutant General 
Commissioner of Health 
Commissioner of Pensions 
Criminal Court of Appeals 
Fire Marshal 

Game and Fish Department 
Highways, Department of 
Librarian 
Reporter 

Supreme Court Commission. 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


55 


Schools 


Blind, School for 

College for Women 

Eastern Ok'ahoma College 

Military Academy 

Mines, Wilbur ton 

Northeastern Junior College 

Southeastern Stare Teachers College 


Cameron School of Agriculture 
Connors School of Agriculture 
East Central State Teachers College 
Murray School of Agriculture 
Northeastern State Teachers College 
Panhandle School of Agriculture 
Southwestern State Teachers College 


Boards and Commissions 

Accountancy, Board of 

Adult Blind, Board of Commissioners 

Arbitration and Conciliation, Board of 

Architects, Board of Examiners 

Banking Board 

Bar Commission 

Building and Loan Board 

Chiropractic Examiners, Board of 

Criminal Identification, Bureau of 

Dental Examiners, Board 

Drainage and Irrigation 

Education, Board of 

Election Board 

Eleemosynary Institutions, Board of 
Embalmers, Board of 
Equalization, Board of 
Forest Commission 

Free Fair Association, Board of Directors 

Geological Survey 

Historical Society 

Industrial Commission 

Insurance Board 

Issues Commission 

Land Office, Commissioners of the 

Library Commission 

Live Stock Registry Board 

Market Commission 

Medical Examiners, Board of 

Mining Board 

Nurses, Board of Registration 
Optometry, Board of 
Osteopathy, Board of 
Petroleum Experiment Station 
Pharmacy, Board of 
Public Affairs, Board of 
Soldiers’ Memorial Commission 
Soldiers’ Relief Commission 
Veterinary Examiners, Board of 
Vocational Education. 


r 






56 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


Eleemosynary Institutions. 

Colored Deaf, Blind and Orphan Institute 

Confederate Soldiers’ Home 

Institute for Feeble Minded 

Union Soldiers’ Home 

Western State Home for Orphans 

Whitaker State Home for Orphans 

Hospitals and Asylums 

Central Hospital for Insane 
Eastern Hospital for Insane 
Eastern Tubercular Sanitarium 
Tubercular Sanitarium (colored) 

University Hospital 
Western Hospital for Insane 
Western Tubercular Sanitarium 

Penal Institutions 

Industrial School for Girls 

Penitentiary 

Reformatory 

Training School for Negro Boys 
Training School for Negro Girls 
Training School for White Boys 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


57 


TABLE 5 


Population of Oklahoma 



Rural 

% Inc. 
Rural 

Urban 

% Inc. 
Urban 

Total 

% Inc. 
Total 

1890 

249,173 


9,484 


258,651 


1900 

731,974 

193.8 

58,417 

516.0 

790,391 

109.7 

1910 

1,337,000 

82.7 

320,155 

448.1 

1*657,155 

205.5 

1920 

1,488,803 

11.4 

539,480 

68.5 

2,028,283 

22.4 

1926 





2.384,000(1) 


1929 





2,3313,653(2) 


1930 





2,376,885(a) 

23.3(4) 



2 , 376,885 






(1) Estimate of U. S. Census Bureau. 

(2) Estimate of Southwestern Bell 
Telephone Co. 

(3) Increase over 1920 census. 

(a) Eirst published report of census 
for 1930 may be subject to some 
corrections and revisions. (Pub¬ 
lished June 15', 1930). 

(b) The population of Oklahoma in 
1907, the year in which Oklahoma 
was admitted as a state, was 

1,414*177. 


/907 


/9ZO /930 

/^opu/ation 


Increase 








Oklahoma History in Figures 





58 


TABLE 6 


State of Oklahoma 


Valuation of Property 
Per State Board of Equalization 


Valuation at end 
of Fiscal Years 

Total 

1908 

733,526,360 

1909 

869,474,736 

1910 

937,514,0(32 

1911 

1,326,840,833 

1912 

1,193,655,846 

1913 

1,177,079,420 

1914 

1,177,147,345 

1915 

1,187,564,318 

1916 

1,248,811,724 

1917 

1,335,2201,527 

1918 

1,439,581,118 

1919 

1„664,448,745 

1920 

1,695,188,207 

1921 

1,739,235,008 

1922 

1,671,753,031 

1923 

1,686,208„728 

1924 

1,665,556,451 

1925 

1,673,973,198 

1926 

1,697,364,364 

1927 

4,729,342,830 

1928 

1,791,424,587 

1929 

1,850,263,038.13 


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Farm Value 8,499,702 30,305,295 17 X S42,000 17,209,000 15,639,999 32,563,000 

(1) This consists of Barley, Rye, Potatoes (both white and sweet)., Sorghum Syrup, Wild Hay, Broorncorn, Peanuts, Apples, Peaches* and 

p ears* 



60 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


For the years 1909 and 1919 no complete information was obtainable as to the pro¬ 
duction of grain sorghums and their values. For this item we take what we believe to 
be a fair estimate of $12,000,000 for the year 1909 and $22,000„000 for the year 1919. 

This gives us a total farm value for production of these years as follows: 

1909 $135,079„600. 

1919 507,241,401. 

1929 260,677,000. 

1919 being a war year the farm value was proportionately much greater than for any 
other years shown in the table. 


TABLE 8 

Manufacturing in Oklahoma 


Year 

Number of 
Establishment. 

Average Numbe. 
of Wage Earnei 

Average 

Wage 

Value of 
Products 

1899 

495 

2,381 

$ 387.01 

$ 8.133,000 

1904 

1,123 

5,456 

518.01 

24,459.000 

1909 

2,316 

13,143 

550.88 

53,682,000 

1914 

2,518 

17,443 

631.26 

102„005,000 

1919 

2,445 

29,503 

1,187.20 

401,362,000 

1923 (1) 

1,231 

25,358 

1.,29-9.24 

312,789,000 

1925 (1) 

1,274 

26,163 

1..300.91 

400,291,000 

1927 (1) 

1,373 

27,932 

1,281.16 

371,718,000 


(1) Establishments with annual product with value of $5',000 and over. 

(2) Source: U. S. Census of Manufacture. 

(a) Manufacture as stated in the above table include all refined products of oil and 
gas, minerals reduced from the ore to refined products, and lumber, shingles and such 
materials made from timber. These compose by far the great volume of manufactured 
articles in Oklahoma. (Editor) 








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62 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


TABLE 9-A 

From the records of the U. S. Geological Survey on file in the office of the Independent 
Oil Association of Oklahoma at 216 South Morton Avenue, Okmulgee, Okla. Compiled by 
the Secretary of the association Charles I. O'Neill. 


Known Oil Production of the State of Oklahoma from the Discovery of Oil 

in 1891 to the Close otf 1929. 


Year 

Barrels 

1891 

30 

1892 

80 

1893 

10 

1894 

130 

1895 

37 

1896 

170 

1897 

625 

1898 

* 

1899 


1900 

6,472 

1901 

10,000 

1902 

37.100 

1903 

138,911 

1904 

1,366,748 

1905 

8,013,495 

1906 

18,718,648 

1907 

43,524,128 

1908 

45,798.765 

1909 

47,859,218 

1910 

52,028,718 

1911 

56,069,637 

1912 

51,427,071 

1913 

63,579.384 

1914 

73,631,724 

1915 

97,915,243 

1916 

107,071,715 

1917 

107,507,471 

1918 

103,347.070 

1919 

81,127,900 

1920 

105,725,000 

1921 

113,978,000 

1922 

149,571,000 

1923 

160,924.000 

1924 

173,538,000 

1925 

176,760,000 

1926 

177,651,198 

1927 

276,022,024 

1928 

247,500„851 

1929 

252,229,474 


Total—39 years. 


Active oil wells in Oklahoma, Dec. 31, 1929, 61,016daily average production 
well per day 11.33 barrels. 


per 


**No records available. 






Mine Production Oklahoma—Zinc and Lead Ores 




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Oklahoma History in Figures 


65 


TABLE 11 

Railroads in Oklahoma 


Year 

Main 

Mileage 

Side 


Total Value 
of all 

Railway Property (1) 

Lines 

Tracks 

Total 

1914 

6,382.35 

1,521.24 

7,903.59 

197,945,748 

1915 

6,271.53 

1,471.88 

7,843.41 

200,.452,097 

1916 

6,421.03 

1,609.53 

8,030.56 

200,702,205 

1917 

6,333.75 

1*620.35 

7,954.10 

201,656,834 

1918 

6,461.47 

1,751.97 

8,213.44 

203,551,619 

1919 

6,439.54 

1,842.98 

8,282.52 

204,,473,389 

1920 

6,481.84 

1,869.46 

8,351.30 

203,971,529 

1921 

6,528.28 

1,.923.50 

8,451.78 

205,248,139 

1922 

6,564.29 

1,967.66 

8,531.95 

190,220,872 

1923 

6,597.54 

1,994.32 

8,591.86 

19@„006,166 

1924 

6,615.56 

2,055.78 

8,671.34 

187,494,847 

1925 

6,583.58 

2„072.33 

8,655.91 

136,255,342 

1926 

6,598.11 

2,051.01 

8,649.12 

186,041,937 

1927 

6,615.25 

2,093.31 

8,708.56 

189.201,510 

1928 




189,753,994 

1929 





1930 






(1) The "Total Value of All Railway Property” 


includes buildings, real estate. 










66 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


TABLE 12 


Auto Registrations in Oklahoma 


Year 

Registrations 

1920 

204,300 

1921 

1922 

2 49., 6 59 

1923 

307,000 

1924 

369,903 

1925 

424,346 

1926 

499,938 

1927 

503,126 

1928 

529.843 

1929 

586,872 


Supplied by University of Oklahoma. 


S8G,&7Z 



/SZO /930 

rfc/fomob/Ze #ey/$Zrcrrtof> 







Oklahoma History in Figures 


67 


TABLE 13 
Communication 


Year 

Toll 

Calls* 

Number 

of 

Telephones 

Telephones 
per 100 
Population** 

1913 

3,400,000 



1914 

3,700,000 

153„509 

7.22 

1915 

4,400,000 

164,000 

7.41 

1916 

5,400,000 

181„000 

7.58 

1917 

6,200,000 

193,000 

8.04 

1918 

5,900,000 

201,000 

8.27 

1919 

6,400*000 

215,000 

8.30 

1920 

7,600,000 

228,000 

8.57 

1921 

7,400,000 

232,000 

8.76 

1922 

7,900,000 

241*000 

11.03 

1923 

8,000,000 

248,000 

11.26 

1924 

8,600,000 

253,000 

11.35' 

1925 

9,600,000 

255,000 

11.71 

1926 

11,000*000 

269,000 

11.68 

1927 

11,400,000 

280,000 

11.60 

1928 

12,.400,000 

295,000 

12.03 

1929 

13,100,000 

311*000 

12.84 

♦Does not include all but is on comparable basis. 

♦♦Estimated. 

Supplied by University of Oklahoma. 


TABLE 14 

State of Oklahoma 

Assessed Real Estate Property 

Year 

No. of Acres 

Assessed 

Total 
Assessed 
Value of 
Land 

Average 
Assessed 
Value per 
Acre 

Total Total Assessed 

Assessed Value of Improve- 
Valuei of ments and Land 
Improvements Combined 

1914 

29,665,931 

397,383,209 

1,340 

41,613,351 

438*996,560 

1915 

30,561,311 

418*352,166 

1,369 

41,369,861 

460,222,027 

1916 

30,793,473 

421,099,523 

1,368 

39,698,547 

460*798,070 

1917 

32,277,594 

434*336,635 

1,340 

46,007,403 

480,344,038 

1918 

33,408,218 

457,730,288 

1,370 

46,7 66,166 

504*496,454 

1919 

34.459,073 

578*067,784 

1,678 

62,698,503 

640,766,287 

1920 

34,806,501 

581,504,859 

1,671 

60,512,440 

642*017,299 

1921 

36,252,936 

601*920,463 

1,660 

61,491,082 

663,411,545 

1922 

36,590.474 

603,847,456 

1,650 

67,425,806 

671*273,262 

1923 

36,703,692 

576„887,833 

1,572 

62,758,206 

639,646,039 

1924 

37,405,610 

577,236,282 

1,543 

62,732,303 

639*968,585 

1925 

37,901,902 

567*804,563 

1,498 

64,159,296 

631,96/3,859 

1926 

37,844,229 

567,889,563 

1,501 

63,759,777 

63 L,649,529 

This 

information was 

obtained from the 

reports of the 

Santa Fe Railroad. 


NOTE *. The gradual increase in acreage assessed is accounted for by the fact that 
each year some additional Indian lands become taxable. 

Supplied by University of Oklahoma. 












68 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


TABLE 15 

Number of Employees and Officials in State Departments and Their Com¬ 
pensation as Provided by the Appropriations Made During 1909, 1919, & 1929 


No. 

Department 

of Employees & 
1909 1919 

Officials 

1929 

Salaries 

1909 

of Employees 
1919 

& Officials 
1929 

Governor 

4 

8 

11 

9,200 

17,450 

26,150 

Lieutenant Governor 

2 

2 

2 

2,200* 

3,175* 

2,500 

Attorney General 

9 

17 

21 

19,200 

36,.550 

60.400 

Secretary ~-f State 

19 

9 

10** 

18 040 

13 900 

17,500 

State Auditor 

10 

4 

41 

14,800 

7,900 

72,900 

State Treasurer 

6 

16 

14 

9,700 

26,700 

26,.100 

State Examiner & Inspector 

9 

15 

21 

16,800 

29.300 

41,900 

Mining Department 

6 

6 

14 

9,900 

11,400 

15,870 

Insurance Department 

6 

9 

6 

9,100 

15.650 

10,450 

Charities & Corrections 

3 

3 

11 

3,900 

5,200 

20,500 

Department of Labor 

5 

13 

15 

7,100 

19.220 

21,420 

Public Instruction 

5 

10 

20 

8,500 

17,900 

29.. 8 00 

Supreme Court 

19 

27 

45 

40,820 

89.400 

153,500 

Criminal Court of Appeals 

6 

6 

6** 

21,150 

22,800 

23,800 

District Cou^t 

26 

68 

96 

. 156,000 

197.200 

278,400 

Accounting Department 


7 



11,300 


Gross Prod. Tax Dept. 


6(?) 



10.500 


Income Tax Department 


8(?) 



13.800 


Warrant Department 


3 



3,900 


Public Service Tax Dept. 


2 



3,300 


Inheritance Tax Dept. 


1 



1,800 


State Banking Department 


19 

19 


36„800 

55,900 

State Board of Health 


28 

35 


42,300 

73,500 

State Lib *ary 


3 

3 


4,200 

5,100 

State Election Board 


3 

3 


5,400 

5,400 

Board of Public Affairs 


46 

19 


64,150 

45,900 

Military Department 


5 

17 


8,200 

26,.950 

Custodians of Buildings 


5 

8 


6,600 

10.200 

Board of Ag iculture 


26 

34 


40,800 

58,080 

Industrial Commission 


13 

23 


22,800 

37,320 

Corporation Commission 


32 

55 


65,850 

124,050 

Fire Marshall 


4 

7 


7„800 

15,000 

Market Commission 


9 

12 


15,420 

24,720 

Land Office 


49 

42 


76,160 

93,000 

Highway 


34 



30,300 


Engineering 


12 



20,400 


Confederate Pension Fund 



2 



3,500 

State Issues 


1 

1 


2,500 

2,,500 

Board of Equalization 



2 



4.200 

Bureau of Criminal Identification 


4** 



10.800 

State Reporter 



2 



4,380 

Maintenance of Buildings 



59 



38.750 

Okla. Library Commission 



2 



3,800 


13 5 

529 

682 

346,410 

1,008,,025 

1,444,240 

*The Lieutenant Governor 

was 

acting as Governor. 





**Only the approximate number of employees and their salaries are available. Tn 
several instances, the appropriations provided a certain amount for extra help, but did 
not provide that this extra help should consist of any definite number of employees. The 
descrepancies are so slight, of course, that there is no very significant difference made 
in the totals. 


Supplied by University of Oklahoma. 










Oklahoma History in Figures 


69 


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Oklahoma History in Figures 


71 


NOTES FOR TABLE NO. 16 

Our state government began November 16, 1907. It was some time 
later before the legislature met and the first legislature established June 
30th as the closing day of each fiscal year. Hence the first appropriations 
were made to cover expenses incurred from November 16, 1907 to June 30, 
1909, a period of nineteen and one-half months. 

For this reason the first twelve months period for which we can furnish 
a record of costs is the year 1909-10. 

In the foregoing table we have selected three periods at intervals of 
ten years. The table shows the different departments for which appropria¬ 
tions have been made and the totals for the three years taken as examples 
show the increase in appropriations for each of these three years. This 
table does not include any of the expenses of the highway department. 


72 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


TABLE 17. 

Summary of Income—State of Oklahoma 
By Funds 


Nov. 30, 1908 June 30, 1916 June 30, 1923 June 30, 1927 
Nov.30, 1909 June 30, 1917 June 30, 1924 June 30, 1928 


Advalorem Taxes 
Chief Mine & Oil Inspector 
iState Mining Board 
Insurance Commissioner 
Secretary of State 
Board of Agriculture 
Pure Food, Drug, & Dairy 
Commission 
Labor Commissioner 
Library 

Gross Revenue Tax 
Interest on Daily Balances 
Institutional Sources—Educational 
Institutional Sources—Hospitals 
Institutional Sources—Asylum 
Institutional Sources—Penal 
Wichita Forest Reserve 
Commissions—Miscellaneous 
Boards—Miscellaneous 
Income Tax 
Inheritance Tax 
Licenses 

Refunds and Rebates 

Collection of Acc. Taxes 

Fines and Court Costs 

Public Lands 

Board of Public Affairs 

Miscellaneous Taxes 

Bonds and other Liabilities 

Gross Production Tax 

Auto Tax 

Gasoline Tax 

Game and Fish Warden 

Miscellaneous Income, 

and other than Taxes 
State Officials—Misc. 

Public Buildings 


751,167.52 

15,839.47 

2,497,623.44 

11,180.60 

3,532,695.45 

2,815,768.19 

2,114.00 

560.53 

311.00 

464.68 

169,040.78 

276,875.89 

250,634.43 

83..444.40 

259,4*59.41 

184,818.68 

214,755.20 

1,654.00 

43,331.75 

55,372.99 

55,471.16 

310.72 

165.00 

281.47 


150.00 

2,794.54 

2,282.72 


559.78 

118,452.36 

3i7„863.92 

66,662.28 

137,301.10 

249,407.39 

844,443.12 

544,168.91 

984,889.14 

708,800.00 


5,484.98 

3,397.88 

182.23 

126,092.71 

32,816.05 

1,139.32 


1,635.00 

1,437.64 

.70 

1,868.00 

87,817.89 

2,515.00 


87,052.62 

97,115.72 

189,76*5.84 

126,747.51 

1,088,886.87 


3,600.70 

161„516.88 

332,099.58 


63,092.96 

280,036.67 

471.495.9-5 

62.00 

41.78 

11,744.64 


2,060.40 

23,975.02 

5’,767.48 

55,639.75 

2,275.75 

103,122.37 


38,119.60 

200,247.50 

4,995,434.36 

55,380.63 

1,024,274.49 

700.00 

1,500.00 

7,493,151.00 

3,806,577.70 

1,641,700.00 

10,264,787.14 
5„967,769.48 
7,621,233.65 


146,939.38 

281,580.04 

39„312.72 

718,884.76 

967,003.81 

22,337.23 

1,463,818.13 

38,739.32 

75,000.00 

576,375.00 

200,500.00 

145,564.97 

5,603,762.15 

25,421,562.48 

33,947,079.96 


Supplied by University of Oklahoma. 


NOTES FOR TABLE NO. IT 

While the foregoing table is headed “Summary of Income” it really 
means the amount of money collected from the people of the’state from 
taxes, direct and indirect, and for fees and charges made for different "ov- 
ernmental services, except as to a few items such as interest on daily bal¬ 
ances and the like which are in fact the only actual income of the state. 










Oklahoma History in Figures 


73 


TABLE 18 


List of Educational and Penal Institutions ami Appropriations 


Institutions 


Appropriations 
Nov. 16, 1907 to 
June 30, 1909 

(19 y 2 months) 

Appropriations 
June 30, 1929 to 
June 30, 1930 


Educational 





State University 


201,850 

1,867,020.76 


Central State Normal 


40,190 

317,000.00 


NW State Normal 


47,335 

207,000.00 


SW State Normal 


134,075 

204,500.00 


A. & M. College 


128..000 

1,439,751.00 


University Preparatory School 


24,875 

82,000.00 


Colored Agric. & Normal University 

101,670 

245,000.00 


Oklahoma College for Women 



210,000.00 


East Central State Normal 



233,922.50 


SE State Normal 



250,000.00 


NE State Normal 



260,500.00 


Cameron Agricultural College 



187,500.00 


Conners School of Agriculture 



159,.210.00 


Murray Agricultural College 



63,000.00 


Panhandle Agricultural College 



119,000.00 


NE Oklahoma Junior College 



115,000.00 


Oklahoma Military Academy 



112,500.00 


Eastern Oklahoma College 



73,500.00 

6,146,404.26 

Penal 





Industrial School for Girls 



7,500.00 


State Training School for Negro 

Boys 


81,300.00 


State Training School for White 

Boys 


169,.000.00 


State Training School for Negro 

Girls 


8,700.00 


State Industrial School for White Girls 


218,450.00 


State Penitentiary 



604,800.00 

1,089,750.00 



677,995 


7,236,154.26 



Supplied 

by University of 

Oklahoma. 


NOTES FOR TABLE NO. 18 
In the first column of appropriations 
in the foregoing table are set out all 
the appropriations made for public in¬ 
stitutions in the state from November 
16, 1907 to June 30 u 1909. 

Appropriations were made during this 
first governmental period for all the 
institutions then in existence. All those 
shown in the table for which no ap¬ 
propriation was made at that time are 
institutions created since statehood. 
The appropriations for the institutions 
which were in operation at statehood 
having increased from $677,995.00 to 
$4,362,271.76. The increase in the ex¬ 
pense of operating the same institu¬ 
tions with which we started is ap¬ 
proximately 945%. 

While these are the same institutions 
in name, they are vastly different in¬ 
stitutions in their magnitude and in 
the scope of the service which they 
now undertake to render to the people 
and in the number who benefit directly 
from their operation. 

While our population has only in¬ 
creased 68%, yet the number of stu¬ 
dents who attend the educational institutions has increased far more in proportion. Not 
,only has the number of students attending greatly increased, but the courses # of study 
offered have been increased also and the equipment and facilities for the convenience and 
aid of the student bodies have been much improved. 

It Is also true that the appropriations shown in the table do not by any moans cover 
the cost of our educational institutions to the people of the state. Most of the additional 
cost is cove ed by charges paid by those who attend the institutions and does not fall 
on the citizenship at large. 





/907-08 /9S9 

/9(Mo. 

/Ippnop/vcrf/ons for Sifc/cof/ono/ 
£?/?&/ Tnsfjfaftons. 










74 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


TABLE 19 

State Department Appropriations 
Year 1907-1930 


Appropriations 

Nov. 16, 1907 to June 30, 1929 to 

Offices June 30, 1909 June 30, 1930 





(19% months) 


Governor 



20,950.00 

70,725.00 

Lieutenant Governor 



1,625.00 

2,950.00 

Secretary of State 



18,050.00 

22,687.50 

State Auditor 



14,350.00 

104,387.50 

State Treasurer 



18,162.60 

560,194.00 

Attorney General 



33,268.75 

73,950.00 

Insurance Commissioner 



15„82'5.00 

21,930.00 

Chief Mine Inspector 



17,217.50 

19,775'.00 

Corporation Commission 



105,334.65 

221,550.00 

State Library 



16,525.00 

9,740.00 

Supreme Court 



69,025.00 

82,900.00 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction (Dept.) 

13„812.50 

137,600.00 

State Printer 



6,881.11 


Examiner & Inspector 



20,112.50 

65,112.50 

Labor Commissioner (Dept. 

jf 

Labor) 

14,125.00 

44,070.00 

Commissioner of Charities 

and 

Corrections 

10,262.50 

19,401.75 

Total 



$395,527.01 

$1,456,973.25 


f/, 456,973 


$395,527 

J 



NOTE TO TABLE 19. 

In the above table is a list of all officers 
and commissions provided by law at the be¬ 
ginning of our state government. These do 
not include the educational and public insti¬ 
tutions in existence at the time of the change 
from territorial to state government. 

These offices have all been continued to the 
present time, with the exception of the State 
Printer, which office was abolished in the sec¬ 
ond term. 

Many other departments,, commissions and 
offices have been created since. 

The table sets forth the appropriations made 
for the maintenance of these offices from the 
(beginning! of statehood, November 16, 1907, to 
June 30, 1909, a period of 19 y 2 months. And 
also shows the increased appropriation for the 
same offices for the 12 months period* June 
30, 1929 to June 30, 1930. 


/ 907-08 / 929-/930 

/fopropr/afro/ts for* 
c7r/p//?a/S/tz/e Osparfrnenfr 

Supplied by University of Oklahoma. 









Oklahoma History in Figures 


75 


TABLE 20 

Real anti Personal Property Assessed 
Valuations for Ad Valorem Tax Purposes 

1927-1930 

Real and Public 

Personal Service 

Property Property Total Tax 


1927-28 

$ 1 , 418 , 543,.842 

$ 310 , 798,988 

$ 1 , 729 , 342,830 

$ 4 , 323 , 357.07 

1928-29 

1 , 468 , 980,284 

322 , 444,303 

1 , 791 , 424,,587 

2 , 687 , 136.88 

1929-30 

1 , 496 , 759,821 

332 , 914,820 

1 , 829 , 674,,641 

6 , 403 , 858.61 


Supplied by University of Oklahoma. 





76 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


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Oklahoma History in Figures 


79 













80 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


TABLE 24 

Tlie following amounts were collected by various Departments and 
Institutions and apportioned to various funds in the Treasury; 

During Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1928. 


Advalorum Tax _ $2,815,768.18 

Interest on Daily Balances _ 249,407-39 

Corporation License _ 471,495.95 

Gross Production Tax_ 5,385,513.03 

Gross Production Tax for Weak Schools_ 1,488,350.53 

Income Tax_ 1,088,886.87 

Inheritance Tax_ 332,099.58 

Tank Car Tax_ 55,380.63 

Earnings from Section 13 Fund- 399,917.44 

Earnings from New CoLege Fund_ 205,793.81 

Earnings from Union Graded and Consolidated 

School Fund_ 42,978.75 

Commission of Land Office_ 103.122,17 

Central Hospital_ 16,290 26 

Eastern Hospital_ 12,766.92 

Western Hospital_ — _ 3,758.85 

Corporation Commission Fees_ 118,612,09 

Secretary of State - 214,755.20 

Game and Fish Department_ 281,580.04 

Insurance Commissioner_ 1,025,404.6S 

Insurance Board_ 106,012.68 

Optometry Board _ _ 2,145.33 

Board of Agriculture_ 55,471.16 

Mai’ket Commission _ 2,829.84 

Board of Health- 18,589.50 

Issues Commission _ 3,72000 

Bank Commissioner _ 2o|l59.63 

Building and Loan Auditor_ is|579.69 

Clerk Supreme Court_ 38*754.48 

Bar Commission _ 2515.00 

Library Commission_ ~559!78 

State Senate_ 100 00 

Oklahoma College for Women_ 110.00 

Labor Commissioner_ _ 150 00 

Wichita Forest Reserve_ - 1 437 64 

State Bond Account_ 7 024 274 40 

Miscellaneous Depts. and Institutions_ ’ 1 G 42659 


Collections other than for highways_ $15 G83 773 09 


The following from Highway construction: 

Automobile License _ 

Miscl. from Highway Dept. _ 

Gasoline Tax _ 


5,967,769.48 

1,283,375.13 

5,434,000.00 


Total Highway _ 

TOTAL ALL COLLECTIONS 


$12,685,144.61 

$28,388,922.70 














































Oklahoma History in Figures 


81 


TABLE 25 

DISBURSEMENT FROM VARIOUS TREASURY FUNDS FOR YEAR 
ENDING JUNE 30, 1928 


General Revenue_ $13,042,043.87 

Section 13 Funds_ 380,855.15 

New College Funds - 237„787.37 

Union Grade and Consolidated Schools_ 25,500.00 

Support of Common Schools_ 506,176.63 

Aid to Weak Schools - 1,469,557.95 

Highway Construction_ 14,145,047.38 

County Highway Construction_ 435,172.09 

State Bonds and Interest_ 947,083.59 

Fire Marshal _ 23,174.22 

Fish and Game Warden___ 217,607.66 

Building and Loan Auditor _ 1$,396.30 

Miscellaneous _ 188,224.25 


TOTAL _$31,695,626.46 

Balance on hand June 30, 1927 _$ 6,059,140.54 

Collections —:_,_ 28,368,922.70 


$34,428,063.24 


Disbursements _$31,695,626.46 

Balance on hand June 30, 1928 _$ 2,732,436.78 


TABLE 26 

STATEMENT PERCENTAGE OF COST FOR EACH GOVERNMENTAL 
FUNCTION AND PER CAPITA COST BASED ON POPULATION 
OF 2,250,000 FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1928. 


Per Capita Cost 



Class 

Expense 

Percent 
of Total 

Gen. 

Gov. 

Correc- Con- Educa. 

tive structive tional Total 

1 . 

Executive $ 

61,685.74 

.0019 

.022 

.022 

2 . 

Administrative _ 

594,403.83 

.0181 

.264 

.264 

3. 

Regulative _ 

523,451.93 

.0159 

.233 

.233 

4. 

Protection of Life 






and Property- 

666,075.41 

.0202 

.296 

.296 

5. 

Legislative 

12,073.18 

.0003 

.005 

.005 

61 

Judicial 

525,274.92 

.0160 

.234 

.234 

7. 

Educational 






Administration _ 

210,973.19 

.0064 


.094 .094 

S. 

Education in 






General 

6,199,394.29 

.1885 


2.755 2.755 

9. 

Normal Education 

1,481,293.91 

.0451 


.058 .658 

10 . 

Agricultural 






Administration 

289,700.27 

.0088 

.124 

.124 

11 . 

Agricultural 






Education 

2,276,355.80 

.0692 


1.012 1.012 

12 . 

Charitable 

1,291,044.42 

.0393 


.573 .573 
































82 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


Class Expense 

Percent 
of Total 

Gen. 

Gov. 

Correc- Con- Educa. 

tive structive tional 

Total 

13. 

Hospital 2,267,060.16 

.0689 


1.007 

1.007 

14. 

Penal _ 1,723,185.91 

.0524 


.765 

.765 

15. 

Constructive _14,111,001.92 

.4289 


6.272 

6.272 

16. 

Bond Payments. 662,213.25 

.0201 

.276 


.276 


Total _$32,897,187.13 

lOOpc. 

$1,454 

2.345 6.272 4.519 

14.59 

Total Cost of Government Per Capita_14.59 




General Govt, function 



1.454 per cent of total 

10 


Corrective function 



2.345 per cent of total 

16 


Constructive function—Roads _ 

__ 


6.272 per cent of total 

43 


Educational function 



4.519 per cent of total 

31 



14.59 

14.59 

100 


TABLE 27 

STATEMENT SHOWING BOOK VALUE OF EQUIPMENT, BUILDINGS, 
LANDS, ETC., OF VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND 
INSTITUTIONS AS OF JUNE 30, 1928 

Name of Department or 
1. Executive: 

Governor _ 

Lieutenant Governor _ 


Total_ 

2. Administrative: 

Secretary of State _ 

State Auditor _ 

Attorney General _ 

State Treasurer _ 

Commissioner of Land Office _ 

State Election Board _ 

State Board of Public Affairs 
State Industrial Commisison _ 
Miscellaneous ___ 


Total_ 

3. Regulative: 

State Examiner and Inspector_ 

Commissioner of Labor _ 

Commissioner of Charities and Correction 

Insurance Commissioner _ 

State Insurance Board _ 

Bank Commissioner _ 

Corporation Commission _ 

Board of Medical Examiners_ 

State Issues Commission _ 

Bureau Mines_ 


$ 810,476.61 

6,988.14 

22,121.33 

5,315.85 

8,152.20 

1,948.62 

5,850.02 

133,815.74 

496.48 

2.153.28 

15,373.89 


tution 


1928 


10„532.5. 
226.20 


$ 10,758.71 


9,454.18 

20.799.94 
20,782.91 

12.304.94 
74,842.00 

3,456.34 

649,094.29 

13,617.20 

2,124.81 


Total. 


$ 202,215.48 













































Oklahoma History in Figures 


83 


4. Protection of Life and Property: 

Mine Inspector_ 1,564.99 

Adjutant General_ 56,111.98 

Board of Health_ 36,805.23 

Mining Board _ 885.07 

Game and Fish Warden_ 271,774.08 

Fire Marshal _ 4,259.36 

Custodian Capitol Building_ 555.74 

Bureau Identification and Investigation_ 2,891.04 

Drainage Commission _ 4,588.04 

Forest Commission_ 1,649.40 


Total_ 8 381,048.93 

5. Legislative: 

House of Representatives 

Senate _ 48.858,167 


Total___,$ 48,858.67 

6 . Judicial: 

State Library __ 269,245.03 

Supreme Court_=._ 22,568.24 

Clerk Supreme Court_ 24.443.84 

Supreme Court Commission_ 2,346.78 

Criminal Court of Appeals _ 5,240.21 

State Reporter _ 931.01 

Bar Commission___!_ 595.73 


Total_$ 352,370.84 

7. Educational Administration: 

Superintendent of Public Instruction_ 9,029.00 

Board of Education _ 2,989.85 

Board of Vocational Training _ 16,319.82 

Library Commission _ 53,410.15 

Commission Adult Blind_ 350.16 


Total__ $ 82,128.98 

8 . General Education: 

Geological Survey - 40,356.27 

Historical Society _ 37,714.97 

State University_ 4,594,366.60 

State University—Rev. Fund_ 140,061.82 

University Preparatory School ___ 324,615.88 

School of Mines—Wilburton _ 435,933.03 

Oklahoma College for Women - 1,184,628.66 

School for Deaf—Rev. Fund_ 48.88 

School for Deaf - 571.628.30 

School for Blind _ 597,549.57 

Colored Agricultural & Normal University - 484,208.70 

Colored Agri. & Normal University—Rev. Fund_ 1,561.05 

Oklahoma MilitaryAcademy_ 289,410.52 

Miami School of Mines_ 126,483.14 


Appropriated Funds ___ 8,590,955.54 

Revolving Funds _ 142„271.75 


Total_- $ 8,739,227.39 




















































84 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


9. Normal Education: 

Central Normal—Rev. Fund _ 1,612.76 

Central Normal _ 671,049.12 

East Central Normal_ 595,412.82 

Northwest Normal_ 406,904.44 

Northeast Normal—Rev. Fund_.__ 118.08 

Northeast Normal _:___ 403,553.04 

Southwest Normal_ 384,672.75 

Southeast Normal—Rev. Fund _2,434.55 

Southeast Normal_ 625,990.98 


Appropriated Funds _ 3,087,582.65 

Revolving Funds___ 4,166.39 


Total_$ 3,091,748.04 

10. Agricultural Administration: 

Board of Agriculture_ 130,652.46 

State Market Commission _ 4,249.14 


Total-$ 134,901.69 

11. Agricultural Education: 

A. & M. College_ 2,603,318.14 

A. & M. College—Rev. Fund___ 32,815.99 

Coors Agricultural School_ 71,406.16 

Connors Agricultural School—Rev. Fund_219.00 

Murray Agricultural School _ 203,551.23 

Murray Agricultural School—Rev. Fund_ 1,814.24 

Haskell Agricultural School _ 46,019.01 

Cameron Agricultural School_ 121,121.64 

Cameron Agricultural School — Rev. Fund _ 2,957.39 

Panhandle Agricultural School _ 443,484.12 

Panhandle Agricultural School — Rev. Fund_ 2,963.25 


Appropriated Fuds -- 3,489,900 30 

Revolving Funds _ 40,769.87 


Total _ 

12. Charitable: 

East Okla. Orphans Home _ 

East Okla. Orphans Home—Rev. Fund 

Deaf & Blind Colored Orphans _ 

Confederate Soldiers Home _ 

Union Soldiers Home _ 

West Okla. Orphans Home _ 

Soldiers Relief Commission _ 

Confederate Pension Com. 

Appropriated Funds _ 

Revolving Funds _ 

Total _ 

13. Curative: 

University Hospital—Rev. Fund 
Feeble Minded Institute 


___ $ 3,530„670.17 

520,015.02 

16,872.01 

301,495.78 

200,509.69 

133,041.94 

224,638.24 

50,167.67 

2,020.46 


___ 1,450,073.40 

16,872.01 


— $ 1,406,945.41 


14,535.25 

775,142.24 



















































Oklahoma History in Figures 


85 


Feeble Minded Institute — Rev. Fund _ 10,460.88 

West Okla. Hospital - 1,039,584.83 

West Oklahoma Hospital — Rev. Fund _ 123,511.06 

East Oklahoma Hospital _ 4)360,224.21 

East Okla. Hospital—Rev. Fund _ 07,672.20 

Central Okla. Hospital _ 1,810,080.85 

Central Okla. Hospital — Rev. Fund __ 188,885.73 

Okla. Rehabilitation Institute _ 213,002.60 

State Sanatoria _ 331,038.00 

Tubercular Sanitorium — Clinton _ 177,518.55 

Tubercular Sanitorium — Rev. Fund _ 51,220.36 

Tubercular Sanitorium — Talihina _ 200,718.02 

Tubercular Sanitorium — Rev. Fund _ 20,658.15 

Tubercular Sanitorium — Sulphur _ 3021 , 536.21 

Colored Tubercular Sanitorium—Boley _ 37,204.32 


Appropriated Funds _ 6,4218,120.82 

Revolving Funds _ 506,052.53 


Total_$ 6,035,073.35 

14. Penal: 

State Prison __ 1,844,847.62 

State Prison—Rev. Fund _ 52,656.34 

State Prison Twine Plant-—Rev. Fund _ 23,043.45 

State Reformatory - 620,860.23 

State Reformatory—Rev. Fund _ 25,148.06 

Training School White Boys_ 345,770.04 

Training School White Boys—Rev. Fund_ 1,315.10 

Industrial School White Girls _ 465,040.73 

Training School Colored Boys _ 86,216.52 

Training School Colored Girls__ 24,787.56 


Appropriated Funds _ 3,387,541.60 

Revolving Funds - 103,063.85 


Total___$ 3,400,605.45 

15. Constructive: 

State Capital Commission- 1,721,324.42 

Department of Highways_ 264,063.00 

Soldiers Memorial Commission_ 5,014.63 

Capitol Lands- 85,656.23 


Total_.._$ 2,086,050.18 

Total by Appropriations - 30,548,003 31 

Total by Revolving Fund - 814„O05.4O 


GRAND TOTAL_$31,363,088.71 















































86 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


TABLE 28 

STATEMENTS SHOWING TAX RATES AND VALUATION 
FOR EACH OF THE YEARS SINCE STATEHOOD 


Year Mill Rate Valuation 

1908 _-__1-25 733,526,360.00 

1909 _:_2.5 869,474,736.00 

1910 _1,25 937,514,032.00 

1911 _2. 1,326,840,833.00 

1912 _2.25 1,193,055,846.00 

1913 _3.5 1,177,079,420.00 

1914 _1.3 1,177,147,345.00 

1915 _3,5 1,187,564,218.00 

1916 _2. 1,248,811,724.00 

1917 _2.5 1,335,220,527.00 

1918 _2.5 1,439,581,118.00 

1919 _3.5 1,664,448,745.00 

*1920___2. 1,605,788,207.00 

1921 _1. 1,739',835,008.00 

1922 _.5 1,671,753,031.00 

1923 _3.25 1,686.208,728.00 

1924 -2.5 1,665,566,451.00 

1925 _2.5 1,674,826,952.00 

1926 _.5 1,697,364,215.00 

1927 -2.5 1,729,342,812.00 

1928 - 1.5 1,791,430,389.00 


*Of the two mill levy in 1920 one and one-half mills were declared illegal 
and the entire collection representing this illegal levy was refunded to the 
various counties for refund to the taxpayers. 


TABLE 29 

SUMMARY OF BOND ISSUES 
As of June 30, 1928 


Issue Amount Cancelled Paid Outstanding 

1908 Funding - $1,460,000.00 $1,460,000.00 _ 

Public Building - 2,500,000.00 $48,500.00 1,546,000.00 $ 905,500.00 

1913 Funding - 2,907,000.00 1,781,300.00 1,125,700.00 

A. & M. Dormitory - 300,000.00 __ 300,000.00 

University Dormitory., _ 300,000.00 _ _ 300,000.00 

University Infirmary 130,000.00 _ _ 130,000.00 


Total-$7,597,000.00 $48,500.00 $4,787,300.00 $2,761,200.00 




































Oklahoma History in Figures 


87 


TABLE 30 

BONDS OWNED AND FARM LOAN MORTGAGES HELD BY THE STATE 
LAND OFFICE AND VALUE OF LANDS UNSOLD—BY FUNDS. 

The following table gives the amount of Farm loans held for each fund—- 
The amount yet unpaid on the lands sold on long time payment and the ap¬ 
praised value of the lands yet held by the State, also the amount of money 
invested in Bonds. 

As of June 30, 1928 

Name of Fund Amount 

Common School — Section 16 and 36 : 

Farm Loans _ $23,010,S95.25 

Bonds Owned _ 72,600.00 

Balance Owing on Lands Sold _ 5.197,637.08 

Value of Lands Unsold ___ 6,406,339.29 

Cash on Hand -- 291,116.03 

Home Ownership — Section 13: 

Farm Loans _ 5,518,784.85 

Bonds Owned _ 101,000.00 

Balance Owing on Lands Sold _ 1,412,321.32 

Value of Lands Unsold _ 1,564,940.73 

Cash on Hand _ 44,676.95 

New College : 

University Funds. 

Farm Loans - 433,698.98 

Bonds Owned ___ None 

Balance Owing on Lands Sold _ 275,896.40 

Value of Lands Unsold _ 1,220,926.40 

Cash on Hand _ 8,429.24 

University Preparatory. 

Farm Loans _ 296,171.81 

Bonds Owned _ 2,000.00 

Balance Owing on Lands Sold _ 176,722.57 

Value of Lands Unsold - 252,903.40 

Cash on Hand _i 3,681.66 

A. & M. College. 

Farm Loans _ 426,046.50 

Bonds Owned _ 14,000.00 

Balance Owing on Lands Sold _ 297,684.55 

Value of Lands Unsold - 1,348.006.00 

Cash on Hand _ 4,304.06 

Colored Agricultural & Normal University. 

Farm Loans _ 150,753.27 

Bonds Owned _•_ 5,000.00 

Balance Owing on Lands Sold - 128,032.26 

Value of Lands Unsold _ 1,348,006.00 

Cash on Hand _ 13,401.32 

Normal Schools. 

Farm Loans _ 509,458.31 

Bonds Owned _:_ 3,000.00 

Balance Owing on Lands Sold _ 400,396.29 

Value of Lands Unsold _ 1,459,896.00 

Cash on Hand _ 10,327.20 





































88 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


Public Building Fund. 

Bonds Owned _ 

Balance Owing on Lands Sold 

Value of Lands Unsold - 

Cash on Hand _ 

Total Land Office Assets : 

Farm Loans - 

Bonds Owned - 

Balance Owing on Lands Sold 

Value of Lands Unsold - 

Cash on Hand _ 

Total _ 


2,422,750.00 

814,187.89 

661,488.63 

13,675.94 


30,351,808.97 

2,619,350.00 

8,802,878.36 

13,237,150.65 

658,450.00 

$55,669„637.98 


TABLE 31 

REPORT OF STATE AUDITOR 
STATEMENT OF ASSESSED VALUATION FOR 1928. 


Personal and Public Cer- 

County Real Property vice Property Total 

Adair -$ 2,883,173 $ 1,878,865 $ 4,762,038 

Alfalfa - 22,020.382 3,378,679 25,399,061 

Atoka - 5.739,740 3,505,529 9,245,269 

Beaver- 14,397,990 695,943 15,093,933 

Beckham- 14,058,855 2,360,202 16,419,057 

Blaine - 12,978,644 2,527„075 15,505,719 

Bryan- 13,954,960 4,949,175 18,904.135 

Caddo - 21,440,491 3,587,283 25,018,774 

Canadian - 21,642,848 4.232,008 25,874,856 

Carter - 29,715,485 6,971,763 36.687,248 

Cherokee- 5,960,943 1.021..427 6,982,370 

Choctaw - 8.643,891 2,983,804 11,627,695 

Cimarron- 9,279,038 1,044,505 10,323,543 

Cleveland - 13,329,047 2,141,578 15.470,625 

Coal - 5.190,259 1.769,298 6,959.557 

Comanche - 14,.349,700 3,804,887 18,154,587 

Cotton -- 3,778,483 1,752,188 10.530,671 

Craig - 12,414.303 3.807,422 16,224,725 

Creek - 33,290,108 12,668,426 45„95S,534 

Custer - 16,521,447 3,039,877 19,564,324 

Delaware - 3,818,097 381,844 4,199„941 

Dewey - 8,731,411 624,719 9,356,130 

Ellis - 9,959,357 2,191,301 12,150,658 

Garfield- 42,690,241 7,658,495 50,348,736 

Garvin - 15,229,566 3,848,.140 19,077,700 

Grady - 25,597,S14 6.650,079 32,253,893 

Grant - 24,843,181 3,143,640 27,980,821 

Greer - 9,231,289 1,058,162 10,289,451 

Harmon- 7,183,616 1,089,518 8,273,134 

Harper - 6,554,547 684,135 7,238,682 

Haskell - 5.868,659 1.066,052 6.934,711 

Hughes - 11,309,758 4,722,739 1 6,032,497 

Jackson - 12,103,632 2,636,789 14„740,421 















































Oklahoma History in Figures 89 


Jefferson _ 

_ 9,676,231 

3,396.65S 

12,472,889 

Johnston 

5,905,636 

2,448,610 

8,354,246 

Kay 

49,292,843 

9,361,554 

58,654,397 

Kingfisher 

17,798,782 

1,649,115 

19,447,897 

Kiowa _ 

15,097,180 

3,524,586 

19,421,766 

Latimer 

3,722,270 

2,443,674 

6,165,941 

LeFlore 

. __ 13,582,755 

7,296,518 

20.879,273 

Lincoln 

21,964,655 

7,815,026 

29,779,681 

Logan 

17,386,211 

4,395,788 

21,781,999 

Love 

. _ 4,711,150 

2,008,806 

6,719,956 

Major 

. _ 11,137,370 

1,683,485 

12,820,855 

Marshall 

6,789,043 

2.246,268 

9,035,311 

Mayes 

7,648,342' 

2,246,770 

9,895,112 

Murray 

5,988,872 

2,304,192 

8,293,064 

Muskogee 

44,217,077 

7,820,511 

52,045,588 

McClain 

8,279,260 

2,537,223 

10,816,483 

McCurtain 

9,197,608 

2,221.355 

11,418,963 

McIntosh 

8,101.040 

2,205.805 

10,306,845 

Noble 

_ 15,312,959 

4,651,918 

19,964,877 

Nowata 

8,505,083 

2,637,118 

11,142,201 

Okfuskee 

_ 13,095,603 

4,296,176 

17,391,779 

Oklahoma _ 

137,596,258 

16,754,152 

154,350,410 

Okmulgee 

35,028,655 

9.077,362 

44.106,017 

Osage 

_ 40,049,151 

16,286,066 

56,335,217 

Ottawa 

_ _ 15,449,175 

4,283,025 

19,732,200 

Pawee 

_ 15,542,735 

5,685,130 

21,227,865 

Payne 

40,286,935 

5,920,487 

46,207,422 

Pittsburg 

17,019,825 

7,535,543 

24,555,368 

Pontotoc _ 

_ _ 14,307,930 

3,789,123 

18,097,053 

Pottawatomie 

_ 23,710,985 

7,599,139 

31,210,124 

Pushmataha 

5,091,923 

2,446,304 

7,538,227 

Roger Mills 

7,844,921 

311,071 

8,155,992 

Rogers 

_ 11,116,702 

4,292,347 

15,459,049 

Semiole 

40.262,350 

6.898,802 

47,161,152 

Sequoyah 

4,673,852 

2,841.257 

7,515,109 

Stephens 

_ _ 16,472,030 

2,779.909 

19,251,939 

Texas 

_ 17,134,999 

2,733,,995 

19,858,994 

Tillman 

_ 19,121.855 

2,232,388 

21,354,243 

Tulsa 

156,413,665 

18,189,818 

174.603,483 

Wagoner 

_ _ 11,373,520 

3,599,237 

14,972,757 

Washington 

28,646,859 

6,892,693 

35,539,552 

Washita 

16.702,257 

1.643.277 

18,345,534 

Woods 

14,456,280 

3,969,785 

18,426,065 

Woodward 

13,306,497 

3,621,690 

16,928,187 

Total 

$1,468,980,284 

$322,444,303 

$1,791,424,5S7 


















































90 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


TABLE 32 


POPULATION OF STATE BY COUNTIES 1930 CENSUS IS 


County: 

Adair_ 

Alfalfa _ 

Atoka _ 

Beaver_ 

Beckham _ 

Blaine _ 

Bryan_ 

Caddo _ 

Canadian _ 

Carter _ 

Cherokee __ 
Choctaw __ 
Cimarron _ 
Cleveland _ 

Coal _ 

Commanche 

Cotton _ 

Craig _ 

Creek _ 

Custer_ 

Delaware _ 

Dewey _ 

Ellis_ 

Garfield_ 

Garvin_ 

Grady _ 

Grant _ 

Greer _ 

Harmon_ 

Harper_ 

Haskell_ 

Hughes _ 

Jackson _ 

Johnston __ 
Jefferson __ 

Kay - 

Kingfisher 

Kiowa _ 

Latimer*_ 

LeFlore_ 

Lincoln _ 

Logan _ 

Love_ 

McLain_ 

McCurtain 
McIntosh . 

Major_ 

Marshall 

Hayes _ 

Murray_ 

Muskogee . 

Noble _ 

Nowata 


1930 1920 Change 


14,400 

15,233 

14,533 

11,468 

29,1,74 

20,940 

32,167 

50,733 

28,047 

41,317 

17,261 

24,041 

5,405 

24,939 

11,304 

33,934 

15,393 

18,054 

63,915 

27,444 

15.406 
13,239 
10,544 
45,501 
31,381 
47„624 
14,140 
20,307 
13,917 

7,759 

16,215 

30,283 

28,747 

13,075 

17,383 

49.615 

15,962 

29,606 

11,182 

42,891 

33,725 

27,968 

9,640 

21,574 

34,130 

25,823 

12,221 

11,424 

17.881 

12,408 

66.407 
15,092 
13,593 


13,703 

16,253 

20,862 

14,048 

18.898 
15,875 
40,700 
34,207 
22,288 
40,247 
19,917 
32,144 

3,436 

19,389 

18,406 

26,629 

16,679 

19,160 

62,480 

18,736 

13„86S 

12,436 

11.673 
37,500 
32,445 
33,943 
16,072 
15,836 
11,261 

7,623 

19,397 

26,045 

22,141 

20,175 

17,664 

34,907 

15,671 

23,094 

13,866 

42,765 

*33,406 

27,550 

12,433 

19,326 

37,905 

26,404 

12,426 

14.674 
16,829 
13,155 
61,710 
13,560 

15.899 


697 
—6,329 
—6,329 
—2,580 
10), 185 
5,065 
—2,533 
16,566 
5,159 
1,170 
—2,656 
—8,103 
1,971 
5,550 
—7,102 
7,305 
—1,280 
—1.109 
1.465 
8,708 
1,538 
808 
—1,129 
8,001 
—,064 
13,681 
—1,932 
4,471 
2,655 
135 
—3,182 
4,238 
6,606 
—7,100 
—281 
14,708 
291 
6,512 
—2,684 
126 
319 
41S 
— 2,972 
2.248 
—3,775 
—581 
—205 
—3,250 
1„053 
—747 
4,797 
1,532 
—2,306 


SHOWN 

Pet. 

5.0 

— 6.2 

—33.3 

—18.3 

53.6 
31.9 

— 20.6 

34.7 

23.1 
2.9 

—13.4 

—25.1 

57.3 

29.1 
—33.2 

27.4 
—7.6 
—5.7 

2.3 

40.4 

11.0 

6.4 
—9.6 

24.0 

—3,2 

40.3 
— 12.0 

28.2 

23.5 

1.7 

10.6 
16.2 
29'. S, 

—35.1 
—1.5 

42.4 
1.2 

28.2 

—19.3 

.2 

.9 

1.8 

—22.4 

11.4 
—9.9 
— 2.2 
— 1.6 

— 22.1 

6.2 

—5.6 

7.7 

11.2 

—14.5 























































Oklahoma History in Figures 


91 


Okfuskee 

27,470 

25,051 

2,419 

9.6 

Oklahoma 

219,081 

116,307 

102,774 

88.3 

Okmulgee 

_ _ 55,557 

55„072 

485 

.8 

Osage (est.) 

_ _ 47,500 

36,536 

10,964 

30.0 

Ottawa 

38,742 

36,536 

2,206 

6.0 

Pawnee _ 

_ 19,839 

19,126 

713 

3.7 

Payne 

35,882 

30,180 

5,702 

12.2 

Pittsburg 

. -- 50,7178 

52,570 

—1,792 

—3.4 

Pontotoc 

32,371 

30,949 

1,522 

.49 

Pottawatomie 

. _ - 06„577 

46,028 

20,449 

44.4 

Pushmataha 

_ 14,735 

17,514 

—2,779 

—15.8 

Roger Mills 

14,158 

10,638 

3.520 

33.0 

Rogers - - 

. ___ 18,956 

17,605 

1,351 

7.6 

Seminole 

78,469 

23,808 

54,661 

229.6 

Sequoyah 

_ 19,499 

24,692 

—5,193 

—27.2 

Stephens 

_ _ 33,963 

24,672 

9,271 

37.5 

Texas 

_ _ 14,110 

13,975 

35 

.2 

Tillman 

24,559 

22,433 

2,126 

9.4 

Tulsa _ 

187,405 

109,023 

78,383 

71.99 

Wagoner 

22„430 

21,371 

1,079 

5.0 

Washington 

27,875 

27,002 

873 

3.1 

Washita 

29,450 

22,237 

7,213 

32.4 

W oods 

- - _ 17,244 

15,939 

1,305 

8.1 

Woodward 

_ 15,837 

14,663 

1,174 

8.0 


























92 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


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> ft © 

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TO rH r -\ 
TO^H 
TO H 
® p& 3 

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TO 


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• pH .— 

a 

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r—i 

C TO . 

3 -H TO 
H Ci TO 
© -*p ^ 

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H-» 5 TO! 
TO 3 TO 

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TO ^ £ 

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05 

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* — Slight adjustments being made by Board of Equalization. 

NOTE. The above is a list of larger public utilities corporations 
selected by Secretary of Corporation Commission at random. 








Oklahoma History in Figures 


93 


EDITORIAL COMMENT. 

The foregoing tables and graphs are furnished in order that the reader 
may have a fair mental picture of the growth of the state in population and 
wealth, and the source from which this wealth is produced, and can make 
an intelligent comparison between the growth of the state in population and 
wealth and the ever increasing cost of government. 

They will show as nearly as may be done, the cost of government for 
each year, beginning with 1907 up to 1929-1930. These tables are arranged 
not for the purpose of showing the cost of government for each year but for 
different periods so that the reader may see the successive advances in gov¬ 
ernmental cost, and the departments in which the greatest increase of cost 
have been made. 

Also they will give a fairly comprehensive idea of where the funds are 
obtained with which to pay the governmental expenses. It must be under¬ 
stood that to give this information in detail and to furnish full and complete 
information would require volumes and would be so cumbersome that it 
would be useless as a study on the subject. 

The tables following- show the cost of county government in all depart¬ 
ments and the amount of money paid each year for retiring bonded in¬ 
debtedness and that portion of the bonded indebtedness for which taxes are 
levied each year. They also show the highway expense paid by each county 
and the cost of our common schools, including the amount which is paid for 
retiring bonded indebtedness incurred by the school districts of the different 
counties, all of which goes to make up the sum total paid by the different 
counties of the state for all purposes. 


94 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


TABLE 34 
(A) 

EXPENSE COUNTY GOVERNMENT 


General From 

County Valuation Fund Other 

Appropriation Sources On Roll 


1. Adair 

2. Alfalfa 

3. Atoka 

4. Beaver 

5. Beckham 

6. Blaine 

7. Bryan 

8. Caddo 

9. Canadian 

10. Carter 

11. Cherokee 

12. Choctaw 

13. Cimmaron 

14. Cleveland 

15. Coal 

16. Comanche 

17. Cotton 

18. Craig 

19. Creek 

20. Custer 

21. Delaware 

22. Dewey 

23. Ellis 

24. Garfield 

25. Garvin 

26. Grady 

27. Grant 

28. Greer 

29. Hannon 

30. Harper 

31. Haskell 

32. Hughes 

33. Jackson 

34. Jefferson 

35. Johnston 

36. Kay 

37. Kingfisher 

38. Kiowa 

39. Latimer 

40. LeFlore 

41. Lincoln 

42. Logan 

43. Love 

44. Major 

45. Marshall 

46. Mayes 

47. Murray 

48. Muskogee 

49. McClain 

50. McCurtain 

51. McIntosh 

52. Noble 
*53. Nowata 

54. Okfuskee 

55. Oklahoma 

56. Okmulgee 

57. Osage 

58. Ottawa 

59. Pawnee 

60. Payne 

61. Pittsburg 

62. Pontotoc 

63. Pottawatomie 

64. Pushmataha 

65. Roger Mills 

66. Rogers 

67. Seminole 

68. Sequoyah 


4.,890,606.00 
25,495,838.00 
8,962,660.00 

15.728.. 011.00 
17,091,909.00 
16„150,317.00 
18,406,811.00 
25,563,468.00 

26.128.. 304.00 
35,325,837.00 

6,914,866.00 
10„960,046.00 
9,438,082.00 
16,139,251.00 
6,991,319.00 
18,553,365.00 
10,446„736.00 
15,823,415.13 
44,866,107.00 

20.. 832.303.00 
4,874,000.00 
9,506,767.00 

11,954„631.00 

32,540,635.00 

19,106,965.00 

32.. 922.639.00 
28,610,626.00 
10,544,025.00 

8,876,892.00 
7,354,062.00 
6„377,173.00 
16,125,094.00 
17,413,254.00 

12.932., 085.00 
8,112,141.00 

57,215,052.00 

19,693,126.00 

19,796,281.00 

6,027,692.00 

20.684., 577.00 
29,206,228.00 
22,507,981.00 

6„452,838.00 

13,211,574.00 

7,728,008.00 

9.549„386.00 

8,387,059.00 

50,834,954.00 

12.. 278.472.00 
11,342,714.00 

9,702,370.00 

20.249.. 147.00 
17,221,605.00 
17,130,446.00 

169,485,553.00 
42,030,201.00 
55,476,868.0G 
19,104,832.00 
20,223,387.00 
44,870,774.00 
25,673,456.00 
17,830,431.00 
37,204,175.00 
7,575,888.00 
8,497,309.00 
15,784,570.00 
53,482,863.00 
6,668,566.00 


107,451.34 

94,022.00 

73,575.05 

89,474.20 

93,043.52 

130.159.96 

178,685.22 
170,890.08 

154.102.41 

235.630.41 

53.569.80 

104.220.46 
81,337.00 

143.839.53 
56,695.70 

172,243.75' 

67,366.54 

104,991.10 

338,445.48 

122,452.04 

48,640.59 

76,072.02 

95,780.00 

301,620.00 

110,553.00 

191,788.18 

104,872.50 

96,176.94 

103,607.81 

64,708.11 

48.699.84 
197,044.36 
158,843.60 

89,632.65 

64,887.00 

385.814.99 
130„367.41 
108,387.00 

50.200.80 
122,670.00 
201,130.00 
220,944.06 

54.970.85 

81.879.85 
53,721.00 
70,121.00 

61,894.44 

414,974.15 

96.121.39 
122,050.63 

94,827.25 

159.683.99 
105,901.00 

127.986.76 
1,314,651.00 

332,399.92 

355.690.77 

119.733.47 

132,212.57 

338.419.53 
188,489.87 

119.864.96 
281,128.86 

56,027.30 

54.381.40 
95,357.06 

436,845.80 

62,283.92 


76,752.91 

15,529.00 

11.945.59 

13.861.49 
21,347.05 

28.263.56 
61,091.87 
40,580.47 
32,580.79 
41,265.63 

10.757.25 
24,322.14 
10,034.00 

47.350.56 
16,924.07 

32.539.10 

12.202.50 
13,913.75' 
88,445.53 

25.164.57 
10,953.09 

11.141.10 
8,961.25 

34.943.71 

24.154.25 
39,011.48 

24.650.28 
16,757.08 

36.955.23 
10,375.01 
10,268.00 

104,891.67 

62,672.19 

15,157.88 

31,980.00 

167.210.74 
14,232.69 

27.940.60 
7,963.10 

15*721.00 

45,433.00 

28,480.00 

7,278.83 

15.497.77 

8,332.00 

11,588.74 

9,972.27 

89,695.00 

17,569.36 

31.377.29 
25,040.19 
51,389.34 
15,035.00 
31,736.87 

400,174.96 

66,971.00 

59,214.62 

24.130.71 

15.612.40 
94,857.85 

38.765.40 
24,145.84 

127,923.79 

5.781.23 

12.928.92 

16.489.93 

140.892.75 

13.892.58 


42,181.46 

68,838.13 

68.986.77 

55,834.44 
68,367.62 

105.635.43 
105,085.72 

136.714.22 

114.954.53 

211,793.99 

47,039.05 

90,120.37 

71,938.00 

100,224.74 

51,032.89 

160,335.92 

41,185.70 

78,424.07 

280,425.66 

90,800.09 

39,055.16 

58.920.57 
72,082.65 

239,815.18 

93,864.00 

162,853.98 

39.916.15 

73.808.16 
63,909.68 

44.860.29 
41,451.00 

92.483.78 

100.497.22 

74.512.53 
57,139.88 

226,993.39 

129,022.90 

87,915.06 

47.268.43 
119,206.00 
190,417.00 
173,851.65 

52.992.81 

60.110.95 
50,550.00 

63.666.29 

55,301.86 

366,011.65 

80.669.57 
97,345.50 

77.168.95 
125,963.87 

87,666.00 

103,131.51 

1,013,112.82 

295,651.47 

315,026.50 

102,210.85 

109,364.33 

217,081.40 

166,769.12 

106,310.11 

169,782.62 

51.138.81 
40.891.19 

84.447.44 
314,081.0 8 

54,015.33 




Oklahoma History in Figures 


95 


County 

Valuation 

General 

Fund 

Appropriation 

From 

Other 

Sources 

On Roll 

69. Stephens 

19.749,050.00 

125,765.00 

29,231.00 

89,133.00 

70. Texas 

21,041,295.00 

119,082.56 

18,315.45 

89,709.73 

71. Tillman 

21,327,445.00 

115,255.90 

19.711.98 

101,780.42 

72. Tulsa 

188.636,020.00 

1,281,903.87 

165,445.70 

1,198,133.45 

73. Wagoner 

15,716,961.00 

105,037.67 

21,060.20 

94,481.24 

74. Washington 

35,705,196.00 

253,691.81 

68,141.23 

149,264.26 

75. Washita 

18.826,489.00 

98,035.00 

17,500.00 

62,254.02 

76. Woods 

18,977,458.00 

99,642.29 

18,880.00 

85,398.55 

77. Woodward 

17,704,511.00 

111,103.90 

17,313.83 

76,121.90 

Total for State 

$1,850,263,038.13 

14,102,775.10 

3,126,551.21 

10,426,431.81 


RETIRING BONDED INDEDTEDNESS 


Sinking From 

Fund Other 

Appropriation Sources On Roll 


1 . 

Adair 


12,384.85 

7,940.67 


2. 

Alfalfa 


1 . 000.00 

13,193.79 


3. 

Atoka 


51,863.10 

17,080.52 

39,968.89 

4. 

Beaver 

* 




5. 

Beckham 


73,236.31 

10„235.08 

70,324.86 

6. 

Blaine 


25,282.50 

5,045.15 

22,765.60 

7. 

Bryan 


90,762.75 

3,072.54 

94,710.09 

8. 

Caddo 


110,230.39 

2„356.85 

114,162.33 

9. 

Canadian 


86,644.61 

4,015.38 

90,926.50 

10. 

Carter 


184,690.99 

13,879.92 

189,280.16 

11. 

Cherokee 


28,392.40 

8,421.36 

21,898.84 

12. 

Choctaw 


64,844.36 

16.528.57 

54,800.23 

13. 

Cimarron 





14. 

Cleveland 


53,227.77 


58,550.54 

15. 

Coal 


52,768.09 

5,623.37 

52,421.52 

16. 

Comanche 


42,868.60 


46,512.02 

17. 

Cotton 


1,260.50 

500.00 


18. 

Craig 





19. 

Creek 


308,833.68 

5,382.31 

334,334.73 

20. 

Custer 


2,942.35 

4,626.29 


21. 

Delaware 


11,267.73 

6,778.20 

5,616.30 

22. 

Dewey 


5,216.86 



23. 

Ellis 





24. 

Garfield 


107,466.97 

7,713.85 

98.364.25 

25. 

Garvin 


45,370.00 

21,772.38 

19,814.12 

26. 

Grady 


67,408.05 

8,500.00 

65,648.85 

27. 

Grant 


■ 



28. 

Greer 


872.17 

4,962.00 


29. 

Harmon 


8,376.19 

3,619.04 

2,758.57 

30. 

Harper 


11,940.49 

3,717.58 

3,976.91 

31. 

Haskell 


26,418.08 

1,859.78 

16.398.85 

32. 

Hughes 


80,223.86 

2,082.83 

86.163.41 

33. 

Jackson 


64,031.84 

2,345.00 

54,564.70 

34. 

Jefferson 


56,306.97 

868.48 

60.348.71 

35. 

Johnston 


55,359.31 

17,539.00 

42.541.99 

36. 

Kay 


2,000.00 

3,354.72 


37. 

Kingfisher 





3S. 

Kiowa 





39. 

Latimer 


34,963.35 

9,600.00 

23,122.74 

40. 

LeFlore 


110„253.66 

4,023.02 

117,256.00 

41. 

Lincoln 


62.045.00 

3,000.00 

65,429.00 

42. 

Logan 


84,408.62 

8,406.21 

84,443.27 

43. 

Love 


40,512.89 

11,007.96 

33,556.22 

44. 

Major 


15,243.33 

3,555.00 

13.212.66 

45. 

Marshall 


48,540.15 

4,400.00 

45,946.39 

46. 

Mayes 


1,000.00 


1,000.00 

47. 

Murray 


34,003.97 

7,588.50 

29,815.86 

48. 

Muskogee 


121,389.77 

31*464.47 

90,507.52 

49. 

McClain 


17,673.41 

8,140.00 

9,822.49 

50. 

McCurtain 

- 

62,067.61 

13,354.96 

54,918.75 

51. 

McIntosh 


34,438.40 

7,803.61 

30,077.34 

52. 

Noble 


92,629.08 

6,933.09 

94,957.79 

53. 

Nowata 


58,943.20 

5,448.00 

25,965.29 

54. 

Okfuskee 


90,823.59 

30,181.80 

66.652.2J 





























96 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


Sinking Fund Appropriation From Other Sources On Roll 


55. 

Oklahoma 

303,805.37 


175„025.86 

159,160.04 

56. 

Okmulgee 

176,801.90 


14.668.76 

172,313.80 

57. 

Osage 

55,467.56 


83,905.48 

58. 

Ottawa 

40,981.11 


_ 

38,397.41 

59. 

Pawnee 

56,550.00 


1,406.32 

53.574.29 

60. 

Payne 

67,070.30 


67,070.30 


61. 

Pittsburg 

116,412.73 


36,977.91 

91,.176.09 • 

62. 

Pontotoc 

48,909.00 


10„835.00 

25,874.00 

63. 

Pottawatomie 

131,742.28 


71,340.69 

53,584.41 

64. 

Pushmataha 

15,743.21 


4,908.99 

12,408.54 

65. 

Roger Mills 

8,270.30 


11,956.99 

66. 

Rogers 

74,224.23 


11,513.39 

62„781.92 

67. 

Seminole 

96,392.65 


12,888.89 

93.143.02 

68. 

Sequoyah 

73,414.48 


14,749.74' 

59,397.94 

69. 

Stephens 

79,404.00 


7,878.00 

46,456.00 

70. 

Texas 

5,.890.20 


14,869.87 

71. 

Tillman 

13,870.57 


7.812.51 

7,445.11 

72. 

Tulsa 

154,016.01 


19,303.41 

132,570.67 

73. 

Wagoner 

17,393.83 


10,063.13 

9,070.18 

74. 

Washington 

91,263.73 


12,624.76 

80,693.73 

75. 

Washita 

56,494.50 


39.865.77 


76. 

Woods 

6,061.20 


2,050.00 


77. 

Woodward 

5,513.65 


5,513.65 



Total for State 

4,338,139.11 

(B) 

995,150.70 

3,531,583.65 



COUNTY 

HIGHWAY 

EXPENSE 




Highway 


From 




Fund 


Other 




Appropriation 


Sources 

On Roll 

1 . 

Adair 

34.152.15 


30„626.70 


2. 

Alfalfa 

127,263.00 


69,800.00 

52,011.40 

3. 

Atoka 

57,570.28 


48,883.87 

4. 

Beaver 

111,900.00 


77,398.63 

23,424.11 

5. 

Beckham 

81,532.21 


74,412.88 

6. 

Blaine 

77,.683.43 


67.961.29 

4,037.57 

7. 

Bryan 

132,001.37 


83,528.17 

30,371.24 

8. 

Caddo 

164,998.75 


129,209.78 

52,288.84 

9. 

Canadian 

103,631.87 


88,307.34 

10. 

Carter 

198,545.14 


188,399.65 

30.000.00 

11. 

Cherokee 

36..000.00 


38,000.00 

12. 

Choctaw 

69,124.48 


57,600.28 

6,028.02 

13. 

Oimmaron 

67,000.00 


56,768.00 

14. 

Cleveland 

97,400.00 


62,338.00 

28.892.00 

15. 

Coal 

39,223.00 


38,250.75 

4,894.55 

16. 

Comanche 

100..250.00 


108.883.66 

17. 

Cotton 

76,296.48 


52,542.65 

18,281.78 

18. 

Craig 

108,349.98 


55.612.83 

48,103.16 

19. 

Creek 

332,924.90 


292,185.02 

74.032.37 

20. 

Custer 

130,303.00 


82,300.98 

40,320.11 

21. 

Delaware 

- 


22. 

Dewey 

59,470.64 


53,989.03 


23. 

Ellis 

95,342.37 


73,932.70 

23,550 65 

24. 

Garfield 

270,420.00 


189,984.43 

52,499 74 

25. 

Garvin 

106,785.00 


79„249.86 

38 213 92 

26. 

Grady 

204,458.92 


135,050.00 

66,174 48 

27. 

Grant 

207,500.00 


82.705.49 

102 761 73 

28. 

Greer 

71,585.47 


58,773.82 

10,544.02 

29. 

Harmon 

52,565.30 


42,297.50 

30. 

31. 

Harper 

Haskell 

59„400.00 


46,031.30 

13,973.12 

32. 

Hughes 

140,789.00 


96,011.28 

58.856.62 

34,826.50 

22,501.42 

7.,747. 09 
100,126.33 
4,923.27 
o6,192.00 

33. 

Jackson 

114,810.00 


75,624.49 

34. 

35. 

Jefferson 

Johnston 

80,502.00 

49,932.88 


56,353.93 

40,170.00 

36. 

37. 

38. 

Kay 

Kingfisher 

Kiowa 

349,598.08 

91,674.48 

165,725.00 


233,137.48 

69,178.92 

95,461.27 









Oklahoma History in Figures 


97 




Highway Fund Appropriation 

From Other Sources 

On Roll 

39. 

Latimer 

28,636.40 


31,500.00 


40. 

LeFlore 

94,691.46 


94,691.46 


41. 

Lincoln 

61,100.00 


9,285.00 

57,815.00 

42. 

Logan 

141,101.94 


120,333.38 

11,231.34 

43. 

Love 

26,687.22 


28,342.03 


44. 

Major 

67,950.00 


55,033.00 

12,563.10 

45. 

Marshall 

40,577.00 


32,175.00 

7.728.00 

46. 

Mayes 

58,450.00 


45,875.00 

12,629.00 

47. 

Murray 

50,073.76 


42,373.76 

2,614.3* 

48. 

Muskogee 

156,653.17 


131,650.53 

40,667.96 

49. 

McClain 

79.698.95 


54.243.20 

17,552.21 

50. 

McCurtain 

107,218.79 


87,873.07 

13,269.00 

51. 

McIntosh 

50,130.04 


49,685.49 


52. 

Noble 

106,332.57 


78,084.11 

2 8,, 142.8 5 

53. 

Nowata 

65,805.00 


50,280.00 

11,221.00 

54. 

Okfuskee 

124.771.86 


95,494.37 

32,205.24 

55. 

Oklahoma 

523,877.61 


472,584.69 


56. 

Okmulgee 

165,000.00 


165,000.00 


57. 

Osage 

422,921.90 


324,070.97 

144,794.61 

58. 

Ottawa 

113,433.31 


108,428.75 


59. 

Pawnee 

102,325.00 


71,825.87 

40.7 31.63 

60. 

Payne 

161,798.38 


80,114.63 

78,.986.02 

61. 

Pittsburg 

158,371.84 


120,4-62.62 

29,725.86 

62. 

Pontotoc 

86.805.00 


49,910.00 

45,575.00 

63. 

Pottawatomie 

535,120.00' 


392,208.72 


64. 

Pushmataha 

69,567.65 


57,159.49 

5,052.o0 

65. 

Roger Mills 

78,869.71 


50,070.89 

17,009.62 

66. 

Rogers 

95,720.28 


58,062.12 

31,569.14 

67. 

Seminole 

899.810.33 


821,320.36 

168,471.00 

68. 

Sequoyah 

52,551.02 


45,120.56 

12,67 0.28 

69. 

Stephens 

125,781.46 


120,439.55 


70. 

Texas 

173,921.31 


98,384.51 

78,483.93 

71. 

Tillman 

130,500.00 


83,622.91 

41,853.15 

72. 

Tulsa 

761,522.73 


509,847.94 

235,795.02 

73. 

Wagoner 

71,060.50 


48,375.20 

26,454.68 

74. 

Washington 

216,659.0-7 


99,488.20 

112,140.43 

75. 

Washita 

119,608.58 


48,661.58 

69,130.87 

76. 

Woods 

149,581.35 


80,850.00 

66,421.10 

77. 

Woodward 

101,116.21 


101,116.21 



Total for State 

10,844,460.50 


8,145,007.51 

2,468,059.78 




(€) 





EXPENSE 

COMMON SCHOOLS 




School District General Fund 



• 



From 




Appropriation 


Other 






Sources 

On Roil 


1. Adair 

2. Alfalfa 

3. Atoka 

4. Beaver 

5. Beckham 
0. Blaine 

7. Bryan 

8. Caddo 

9. Canadian 

10. Carter 

11. Cherokee 

12. Choctaw 

13. CLmmaron 

14. Cleveland 

15. Coal 

16. Comanche 

17. Cotton 

18. Craig 

19. Creek 

20. Custer 


117,613.39 

319,611.25 

133,290.75 

208,672.97 

306,182.43 

241.601.77 

305,883.85 

424,632.23 

334,488.45 

604,680.89 

99,851.34 

179.471.81 
112,320.00 
260498.41 
124,044.98 
294,853.71 
180,073.91 
199,744.14 

759.148.82 
311,934.22 


58,932.06 

22.886.66 

23.992.59 

48.580.59 
50,235.63 

55.946.90 
107,346.44 

61.591.49 
145,185.25 

29.207.90 
33,031.71 
11,665.00 
49,247.16 

31.776.50 
52,053.09 
38,641.05 
43.236.85 

168,174.61 

60,875.45 


262,.003.89 
122,094.97 
166,610.32 
242,575.40 
198,048.22 
264,785.71 
334,600.39 
282,762.31 
506,470.91 
79,446.29 

161.471.34 
99,838.00 

206,758.88 

104,487.95 

241,836.30 

141,749.55 

154,629.69 

624.599.34 
249,907.86 
















98 


Oklahoma History in Figures 




Appropriation 

From Other Sources 

On Roll 

21. 

Delaware 

87,500.39 

27,112.66 

65,625.20 

22. 

Dewey 

197,098.38 

32,463.16 

129,854.50 

23. 

Ellis 

164,761.27 

28,038.65 

144,614.76 

24. 

Garfield 

715,912.87 

144,718.91 

602..545.29 

25. 

Garvin 

305.855.05 

54,852.52. 

270,576.15 

26. 

Grady 

548,334.97 

89,658.38 

474,007.86 

27. 

Grant 

310,103.73 

75,270.44 

234,865.08 

28. 

Greer 

203 o 908.11 

46,271.26 

161,611.66 

29. 

Harmon 

149,614.65 

29,655.37 

128.378.74 

30. 

Harper 

113,641.94 

17,058.88 

95,908.71 

31. 

Haskell 

120,347.35 

38,408.85 

90,417.13 

32. 

Hughes 

277,349.75 

68,471.68 

236,693.07 

33. 

Jackson 

298.629.55 

55,103.64 

247,875.78 

34. 

Jefferson 

203,095.25 

35,960.22 

164,256.14 

35. 

Johnston 

131,877.91 

18,525.80 

122,551.34 

36. 

Kay 

816,,557.98 

177,667.87 

657,289.71 

37. 

Kingfisher 

264,435.74 

49,207.98 

210.269.35 

38. 

Kiowa 

315,094.00 

54,382.70 

^63,242.49 

39. 

Latimer 

91,548.25 

16,580.00 

<51,129.29 

40. 

LeFlore 

339,297.00 

51,092.00 

300,,330.00 

41. 

Lincoln 




42. 

Logan 

328.652.34 

75,715.42 

253,645.26 

43. 

Love 

114,522.88 

28,625.11 

101,353.84 

44. 

Major 

167,173.09 

24,864.26 

139,00S.26 

45. 

Marshall 

118,354.00 

20.401.00 

102,052.00 

46. 

Mayes 

145,600.81 

34,788.59 

117,059.04 

47. 

Murray 

143.696.35 

30,709.51 

120,745.49 

48. 

Muskogee 

723,136.98 

87,556.13 " 

664,275.01 

49. 

McClain 

194,388.38 

37,282.41 

165,330.87 

50. 

McCurtain 

209,739.25 

54,265.97 

176,193.51 

51. 

McIntosh 

161,925.22 

44,077.47 

144.302.31 

52. 

Noble 

240,539.96 

57,275.84 

192,708.07 

53. 

Nowata 

177,,489.00 

31,158.05 

123,398.00 

54. 

Okfuskee 

334,652.26 

72,854.60 

253,378.93 

55. 

Oklahoma 

2,539,328.81 

285,754.54 

2,489,903.74 

56. 

Okmulgee 

692,697.66 

101,650.68 

637,324.49 

57. 

Osage 

958„728.93 

209,624.12 

761,205.96 

58. 

Ottawa 

407,016.40 

168,028.25 

254,023.28 

59. 

Pawnee 

265,864.84 

56,722.63 

226.382.96 

60. 

Payne 

547,389.37 

101,395.11 

459,354.91 

61. 

Pittsburg 

406,984.23 

81,172.63 

356,. 379.43 

62. 

Pontotoc 

313,674.00 

37,684.00 

264,735.00 

63. 

Pottawatomie 

1,122,411.40 

437„799.44 

688,063.33 

64. 

Pushmataha 

99,183.69 

16,558.56 

88,334 21 

65. 

Roger Mills 

139,371.40 

30,140.47 

117,643.00 

66. 

Rogers 

247,404.90 

50.505.17 

182,883.22 

67. 

Seminole 

l,272„497.66 

693,147.24 

607,965.65 

68. 

Sequoyah 

132,077.34 

39,789.23 

100,685 53 

69. 

Stephens 

359,234.00 

SI,362.00 

289,178.00 

70. 

Texas 

301,278.37 

33.050.43 

257„576 33 

71. 

Tillman 

365,435.00 

70,428.13 

313,318 22 

72. 

Tulsa 

2,875,729.18 

287,551.05 

2,833 939 43 

73. 

Wagoner 

211,011.00 

37„274.21 

189 935 38 

74. 

Washington 

482,684.95 

69,653.79 

445' 770 73 

75. 

Washita 

289,281.28 

49,741.18 

235 321 49 

76. 

Woods 

224,051.08 

29,756.49 

194 211 75 

77. 

Woodward 

257,239.34 

35„250.81 

217,527.31 


Total for State 

28,652,708.70 

5,853,292.50 

23,963,109.61 



RETIRING BONDED 

INDEBTEDNESS 




School District 

Sinking Fund 





From 



- $ 

Appropriation 

Other 





Sources 

On Roll 


2. Alfalfa 

3. Atoka 

4. Beaver 

5. Beckham 


61,924.68 

25’,948.84 

24,142.04 

71,583.31 


918.38 

4,662.96 

7.346.94 

1.454.86 

5.848.86 


11*028.04 

52*041.98 

18,978.33 

26„571.13 

65„848.29 















4 


Oklahoma History in Figures 99 


Appropriation From Other Sources On Roll 


6. 

Blaine 

33,458.65 

rf 

i . 

Bryan 

75,071.97 

8. 

Caddo 

84,076.74 

9. 

Canadian 

51,010.61 

10. 

Carter 

169.211.12 

11. 

Cherokee 

14,572.02 

12. 

Choctaw 

47.990.69 

13. 

Cimmaron 

5,025.00 

14. 

Cleveland 

50,027.42 

15. 

Coal 

62,374.14 

10. 

Comanche 

51,861.64 

17. 

Cotton 

30,919.14 

18. 

Craig 

51,010.61 

19. 

Creek 

8,062.29 

20. 

Custer 

323,867.46 

21. 

Delaware 

43,322.13 

22. 

Dewey 

14,651.4-5 

23. 

Ellis 

29,597.12 

24. 

Garfield 

19,242.26 

25. 

Garvin 

133,147.43 

20. 

Grady 

72„180.58 

27. 

Grant 

98,583.38 

28. 

Greer 

32,269.05 

29. 

Harmon 

58,596.76 

30. 

Harper 

37,956.88 

31. 

Haskell 

17,507.68 

32. 

Hughes 

44,,964.68 

33. 

Jackson 

104,423.59 

34. 

Jefferson 

78.380.66 

35. 

Johnston 

45,951.13 

30. 

Kay 

73,704.68 

37. 

Kingfisher 

159,017.64 

38. 

Kiowa 

36,933.30 

39. 

Latimer 

47,461.42 

40. 

LeFlore 

20,638.79 

41. 

Lincoln 

85,497.56 

42. 

Logan 

47 L ,245.60 

43. 

Love 

29,942.38 

44. 

Major 

18,994.00 

45. 

Marshall 

19,279.40 

46. 

Mayes 

21,973.63 

47. 

Murray 

26,169.07 

48. 

Muskogee 

153,024.84 

49. 

McClain 

39.601.39 

50. 

McCurtain 

40,111.70 

51. 

McIntosh 

58,628.57 

52. 

Noble 

42,295.90 

53. 

Nowata 

24,025.15 

54. 

Okfuskee 

69.850.11 

55. 

Oklahoma 

630,902.17 

56. 

Okmulgee 

217,723.89 

57. 

Osage 

253,299.04 

58. 

Ottawa 

89,240.19 

59. 

Pawnee 

57.029.76 

60. 

Payne 

73,083.75 

61. 

Pittsburg 

118,267.31 

62. 

Pontotoc 

78,500.00 

63. 

Pottawatomie 

845,048.85 

64. 

Pushmataha 

26.078.30 

65. 

Roger Mills 

15,516.54 

66. 

Rogers 

37,498.96 

67. 

Seminole 

109,100.74 

68. 

Sequoyah 

35,574.95 

69. 

Stephens 

80,629.00 

70. 

Texas 

58,473.83 

71. 

Tillman 

68,518.70 

72. 

Tulsa 

896,974.51 

73. 

Wagoner 

36,449.92 

74. 

Washington 

80,082.91 

75. 

Washita 

56,562.53 

76. 

Woods 

32,852.53 

77. 

Woodward 

56,587.65 


Total for State 

7.003,886.22 


3„707.10 

31,107.04 

2.431.84 

72.962.58 

4.741.52 

79,737.23 

3.750.00 

50,752.68 

9,595.16 

155,467.98 

241.71 

15 y 705.53 

55.90 

52.402.82 


5,180.50 

2,174.48 

46,891.02 

2,205.58 

63,539.78 

3,356.53 

45,605.98 

1.200.00 

27,813.85 

625.00 

8.243.06 

16,415.74 

298,242.73 

3,121.69 

36,994.99 

1,054.14 

10,407.57 

1,731.33 

28.101.69 


18,064.56 

12,822.61 

121,312.99 

6,682.30 

67,376.57 

5,465.00 

91,683.29 

2,264.47 

28,351.49 

4,935.22 

54.159.47 

3,395.00 

30,818.55 


16,786.11 

528.00 

48,181.33 

8,601.48 

96,107.30 

10,324.32 

57,147.26 

3,772.28 

40,924.02 

2,670.74 

73,759.08 

6,589.36 

149,848.91 

1,176.07 

36,737.00 

3,967.81 

33.468.79 

3,047.50 

15,293.02 

1,081.84 

86,111.77 

535.00 

49,395.30 

3,642.40 

27,883.53 


21.116.03 

1,905.00 

18,315.55 


23,386.06 

1,092.00 

26..656.02 

21,634.64 

110,293.36 

3,193.21 

34,824.03 

4,441.71 

33,455.56 

5,522.58 

58.,066.42 

2,966.77 

41.001.88 

1,248.00 

39,779.00 

3,755.14 

65,165.93 

13„010.12 

617,928.61 

8,835.12 

224,589.74 

13,072.82 

256,852.23 

5,585.71 

92,085.77 

2,102.99 

59.. 167.7 3 

3,875.02 

67,250.63 

12,026.53 

113,712.22 

1,666.00 

80,771.00 

9,.039.45 

304,310.16 

450.56 

27,300.72 

2,946.68 

13,924.41 

1,278.05 

35,297.01 

465.38 

104,096.84 

116.26 

38.,284.71 

5,317.00 

79.078.00 

2,919.17 

53,109.04 

6,506.38 

54.226.48 

64,172.31 

819,.944.19 

2.137.99 

55,127.48 

6,214.31 

78,964.89 

3,984.57 

49,837.81 

2„190.72 

28,748.53 

10,718.93 

45.580.92 

382,532.13 

6,118,394.01 



» » 









100 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


In the foregoing table the charges against the several counties of 
the state which are made by the County Excise Board are divided in three 
classes, a. b. and c. 

A. The general expense of county government, and included in this are 
the amounts necessary to be raised from each county to paj outstanding 
bonded indebtedness. B is the county highway expeiise, and C is the cost of 
the common schools of the county, also showing the amount to be raised for 
the purpose of retiring bonded indebtedness. 

In each county this sub-division C is divided among the different school 
districts of the county, and the tax levy varies in different school districts. 

The table shows in tlto first column the tax valuation of the property 
in each county. The column headed “appropriations" is the amount which 
is necessary to meet the appropriations, provided that the entire levy is 
means that the excise board estimates that this part of the appropriation 
would be procured from other sources than ad valorem tax. The column 
headed “on roll,” means that the property of the county has been placed 
on the tax roll for that amount or that the sum in that column has been 
levied against the property in the county and must be paid as ad valorem 
taxes. It may be noted that the sum of the columns “from other sources’" 
and “on roll,” will exceed the amount shown in the appropriation column. 
This is caused by the fact that the excise board levies a greater sum than 
is necessary to meet the appropriations, provided that the entire levy is 
collected, and a certain per cent is added for losses and non-payment of taxes. 

The county derives funds from a number of sources other than ad 
valorem taxes, such as fees and earnings of different offices; part of the 
gross production; gasoline and automobile license tax, and for school pur¬ 
poses each county gets a portion of the income from the state school fund 
and school lands. 

One item that cannot be shown in the above table in its proper class¬ 
ification is the expense of maintaining the separate schools for the colored 
children of the state. While this is an expense that should be charged as 
common school expense, it is in fact carried in the expense of county gov¬ 
ernment, under the head of general fund appropriations for the reason that 
colored schools are paid by ad valorem tax upon the property of the county 
which is placed in the county’s general fund and paid from that source. 

The appropriation for common school purposes for the year 1929, was 
$28,652,708.70. We had incurred bonded indebtedness for school purposes 
however, which must be paid, and the appropriation for the sinking fund 
to apply on this indebtedness was $7,003,886.22, making our total expendi¬ 
tures for common school purposes for the year $35,656,694.92. Add to this 
$1,500,000 appropriated by the legislature from the gross production tax to be 
used to aid weak schools in the state, we have a grand total of $37,156,694.92, 
which was our charge for common schools for the year 1929. 

The amount levied against the property of the several counties as ad 
valorem tax was $29,420,870.29. This is the amount remaining after de¬ 
ducting what might be expected from other sources than ad valorem taxa¬ 
tion. This would require an average tax of 7.5 mills plus, for schools alone. 

The county government expense to be paid from ad valorem tax would 

require a levy of - mills. Altogether, the appropriation made 

by the different county excise boards and which was spent in 1929 for county 
purposes exclusively, was $64,941,969.63. This would require an average 
ad valorem tax levy on all the taxable property of the state of 3.6 mills, 
making no allowance for losses from uncollected taxes. 

The state has delegated a large part of its governing power to units 
of government, such as counties, school districts, cities and towns. Each 
of these has its own financing organization authorized by law to make the 



Oklahoma History in Figures 


101 


necessary appropriations for that part of the government delegated to each 
unit and to levy and collect taxes sufficient to meet its needs. 

The 77 county excise boards in the state levy the taxes necessary for 
operating the county government, maintaining the courts and offices, for the 
highways over which they are given jurisdiction, and for the common schools. 

In the foregoing tables the expense of that part of government pro¬ 
vided by the counties of the state are divided into three classes, A. B. and C. 

Under class “A” we denominate “expenses of county government,” which 
includes all the appropriations payable out of the county general fund, and 
besides the expenses of county government proper there is paid from this 
particular fund the maintenance of the separate, or colored, schools of the 
state. Most of the counties and school districts in the state have spent 
money faster than they could raise the revenue through taxation or from 
other sources, and have gone in debt through the sale of bonds, <*nd it is 
now necessary to provide a sinking fund annually to pay the installments 
due upon these bonds as they mature. And this must be counted as a part 
of the necessary governmental expenses to be paid each year. 

The foregoing table is taken from the records of expenses provided for 
the fiscal year June 30, 1929, to June 30, 1930. 

We regret that it was impossible to obtain the records for the early 
years of our state government for comparative purposes, but these were 
not available. 

In class “B” we have the expenses of the county highways. This takes 
care of the work done by the county on highways not taken over by the 
state entirely and for laterals under the exclusive jurisdiction of the county. 

Class “C” shows the cost of common schools of the state, including, as 
before mentioned, the sinking funds to retire bonds already issued. 

The columns headed “general fund appropriation,” “sinking fund appro¬ 
priation,” “highway fund appropriation,” etc., indicates the actual amount 
of money authorized to be spent through appropriations made by the excise 
boards. The columns under the heading “from other sources” indicates the 
amounts which the excise boards estimate will be provided by income other 
than ad valorem tax. Under the columns “on rolls” we find the amount 
which is actually made a tax charge against the property of each county 
and is assessed as ad valorem tax. In most instances the total of the 
assessment and the estimated amount from other sources will exceed the 
appropriation made. That is because there will always be a probable loss 
by failure to collect the full amount of tax levied. 

By adding the total general fund appropriation, $14,102,775.10, to the 
amount provided for the sinking fund, $4,338,139.11, we finely that the actual 
cost of county government for the present fiscal year to be $18,440,914.21. 
Deducting from this sum the estimated income from other sources, $4,121,- 
701.91, we have a balance of $14,319,212.30, which is charged, levied and must 
be paid as ad valorem tax against the property of the state. 

Adding to the total appropriation for county government the $10,844,- 
4G0.50 appropriated for county highways we have a total of $28,2S5,374.71 
as the year’s expenditures by the counties exclusive of school expenses. 
Fortunately we have a greater income from other sources than ad valorem 
taxation for highway purposes than for any other, and only $2,46S,059.78 
must be added to our tax charge for county highway purposes. And also 
fortunately there is no bonded indebtedness in this department and no sink¬ 
ing fund to provide. 

The total appropriation for the year for common schools is $28,652,708.70, 
with $7,003,886.22 to be provided for sinking funds, making a total charge 
against the counties of the state for common schools of $35,656,6194.92. Of 
this amount our estimated income from other sources than ad valorem taxes 


102 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


is $6,235,824.63, leaving a balance to be levied as ad valorem taxes of 
$20,420,870.29. 

But this vast sum is insufficient to provide the schools being maintained 
in the state, and the Legislature has appropriated from the gross production 
tax an additional $1,500,000.00 as school aid for weak schools, making the 
total expenditure for common schools of the state $37,156,694.92. 

Of all of the items shown in the tables, the amount charged against 
the property of the state as ad valorem tax by the different county excise 
boards is $46,507,578.86. 

It will be noted from the table above that the school expense for Lincoln 
County is not shown. The records for the common school districts for this 
county were not available. 

So that it is certain that the total expenses for county purposes would 
run above $65,000,000.00. 

This, of course, does not include the taxes charged for the support of 
the various city and town governments in the state. 

On the present tax valuation of all taxable property in the state it 
would require an average levy of 25.14 mills to pay these county charges. 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


103 


REPORT OF SCHOLASTIC ENUMERATION 
STATE OF OKLAHOMA 

TABLE 35 


January 


No. 

Scholastics 


County 

1908 

1930 

Adair 

3,303 

5,304 

Alfalfa 

5,471 

4,712 

Atoka 

5,734 

4,921 

Beaver 

3,904 

3,810 

Beckham 

5,200 

10,565 

Blaine 

5,630 

6,011 

Bryan 

8,165 

11,323 

Caddo 

9,362 

16,391 

Canadian 

5.040 

8,052 

Carter 

10,055 

14,116 

Cherokee 

4,252 

5,730 

Choctaw 

6,078 

7,010 

Cimmaron 

1,720 

1,585 

Cleveland 

6,908 

7,902 

Coal 

4,780 

3,981 

Comanche 

10,671 

9,737 

Cotton 


5,304 

Craig 

5,215 

5,436 

Creek 

5,048 

23,170 

Custer 

6,343 

8,288 

Delaware 

2,827 

5,048 

Dewey 

5,045 

4,457 

Ellis 

4,674 

3,302 

Garfield 

9,397 

12,064 

Garvin 

8,014 

11,383 

Grady 

7,148 

17,225 

Grant 

5,977 

4,230 

Greer 

8,694 

6,930 

Harmon 


4,885 

Harper 

2,528 

2,639 

Haskell 

5,612 

2,639 

Hughes 

6,239 

10,118 

Jackson 

5,984 

9,776 

Jefferson 

4,119 

6,0S6 

Johnston 

5,089 

4,441 

Kay 

8,739 

13,469 

Kingfisher 

6,248 

5,100 

Kiowa 

7,700 

10,036 

Latimer 

2,862 

3,806 


15, 1930. 


No. 

Scholastics 


County 

1908 

1930 

LeFlore 

8,964 

15,046 

Lincoln 

14,325 

11,398 

Logan 

11,467 

8,104 

Love 

4,156 

3,321 

Major 

*5,360 

3,862 

Marshall 

4,866 

3,701 

Mayes 

3,488 

6,021 

Murray 

4,356 

3,875 

Muskogee 

7,660 

20,324 

MlcClain 

4,801 

7,630 

McOurtain 

4,694 

13,682 

McIntosh 

5,048 

9,410 

Noble 

4,642 

4,647 

Nowata 

2,740 

4,649 

Okfuskee 

5,320 

9,844 

Oklahoma 

18,154 

53,426 

Okmulgee 

4,839 

19,469 

Osage 

4,857 

15,915 

Ottawa 

4,620 

12,135 

Pawnee 

5,958 

6,504 

Payne 

. 8,063 

11,712 

Pittsburg 

12,136 

16,324 

Pontotoc 

7,402 

10,796 

Pushmataha 

2,126 

4,839 

Pottawatomie 

18,086 

23,374 

Roger Mills 

5,107 

5,047 

Rogers 

5,955 

6,282 

Seminole 

5,316 

24,192 

Sequoyah 

7,076 

7,248 

Stephens 

6,926 

11,297 

Texas 

5,064 

4,467 

Tillman 

5,256 

8,009 

Tulsa 

6,324 

49,918 

Wagoner 

6,588 

7,763 

Washington 

3,922 

7,828 

Washita 

8,923 

10,193 

Woods 

6,008 

4,95S 

Woodward 

5,257 

4,544 

Totals 

475,847 

758,103 




104 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


As noted elsewhere, Oklahoma Territory had an operating government 
for more than sixteen years before the admission of Oklahoma into the Union. 
They had provided means of raising revenue for the maintenance of their 
territorial and county governments and had levied taxes for those purposes. 

When the State was admitted, all of that part included within the Indian 
Territory or the East half of the State had been without organized govern¬ 
ment and had no funds or tax levies for governmental purposes. The coun¬ 
ties organized from that part of the State had not one cent of money nor -so 
much as a lead pencil with which to begin the business of government; and 
no taxes could be levied and collected for more than a year. This made it 
necessary that some temporary provision he made which would enable those 
counties to carry on. We had the $5,000,000.00 in cash appropriated by the 
United States Government for permanent school fund which was to be loaned 
and the income only used for school purposes. To meet the temporary emer¬ 
gency the State loaned, from this fluid, to the counties on the East side, 
sums of money to tide them over until taxes could be levied and collected. 


The counties which 
as follows: 

received loans and the amounts of the loans to each are 

Adair 


$13,000.00 

McClain 

21 ,000.00 

Atoka 


24,000.00 

McCurtain 

21 ,000.00 

Beckham 


19,000.00 

McIntosh 

25,000.00 

Bryan 


45,000.00 

Murray 

15,000.00 

Carter 


45,000.00 

Muskogee _ _ 

45.000.00 

Cherokee 


20 ,000.00 

Nowata 

20 ,000.00 

Choctaw 


25,000.00 

Okfuskee 

19,000.00 

Coal 


25,000.09 

Okmulgee _ 

_ 25,000.00 

Craig 


21,,000.09 

Osage 

20 ,000.00 

Creek 


29,000.00 

Ottawa _ . 

25,000.00 

Delaware 


14,000.00 

Pittsburg 

45,000.00 

Ellis 


12 ,00.00 

Pontotoc 

35,000.00 

Garvin 


. __ 36,000.00 

Pushmataha 

_ 12,000.00 

Harper 


8 .000.00 

Rogers 

25,000.00 

Haskell 


22 ,000.00 

Roger Mills _ . 

10 ,000.00 

Hughes 


32,500.00 

Seminole __ 

24,000.00 

Jefferson 


20,000.09 

Sequoyah 

24,000.00 

Johnston 


28,000.00 

Stevens _ _ 

30,000.00 

Latimer 


18,500.00 

Texas _ _ _ 

16,500.00 

LeFlore 


33,000.00 

Tulsa _ __ 

37,000.00 

Love 


20 ,000.00 

Wagoner _ _ . 

__ 30,000.00 

Marshall 


. _ 20,000.00 

Washington 

25,500.00 

Tax levies 

had 

been made in all 

counties in Oklahoma 

Territory and 

the taxes levied 

in 1907 were collected 

in 1908. The taxes collected for State 


iviuiiucu XV/J. me ictuwni LlJLCl L HU UUi 1 UfSjJOllUUig UlAUS II cl LI ueeil 

levied or collected on the East side and it was believed unjust for the 
people of the West half of the State to pay when those of the East side 
did not. The State of Oklahoma had assumed, and, by the terms of the 
Enabling Act was compelled to pay the indebtedness of Oklahoma Territory. 
For that purpose our first bond issue was made in 1908 the amount being 
$1,460,000.00. 

Although the provisions of the Curtis Act and the treaties of the United 
States with the Five Civilized Tribes provided that the Indian lands in 
the hands of the allottees should not be taxable;, taxes were levied against 
the lands of the Indian Territory from 1908 to 1912, and warrants were 
issued against the revenue to be collected from these levies. These taxes 














































Oklahoma History in Figures 


105 


were contested and the legality of the levy was called in question and in 
1912 the Supreme Court of the United States held that these Indian lands 
were not taxable; hence there was a large deficiency that had to be pro¬ 
vided for, and the Legislature of 1913; issued what was known as the fund¬ 
ing bonds in the sum of $2,907,000.00. In 1911 public building bonds in the 
sum of $2,500,000.00 had been issued. The greater portion of these bonds 
have been retired. All bond issues and their present status up to June 30, 
192S are shown in the table “Summary of Bond Issues.” 

An examination of the foregoing tables discloses that the people of 
Oklahoma pay more for educational expense than for all other expenses 
of government. It will be noted that while our population has increased 
only 68% our taxable wealth, 152%, the value of our agricultural products, 
112%, the expense of our educational and penal institutions has increased 
1500%; the expense of our State officials 412%; salaries of employees 
310%. This does not take into consideration the fact that the United States 
Government is contributing liberally to the education of our Indian popu¬ 
lation and also contributing considerable sums of money for hospitalization 
and other purposes, the benefit from which accrues directly to Indian 
citizens of our State. More than $6,000„000.00 in the aggregate coming to 
Oklahoma for the years 1930 and 1931 as shown by the following table in 
which the items under “Specific Appropriations” are paid from the National 
Treasury, and the item under “Tribal Fund Appropriations” being paid 
from funds belonging to the several tribes and in the hands of the Indian 
Department for disbursement. 

TABLE 36 

Specific Appropriations. (Gratuities) 

(Furnished by the Department of Interior) 


1931 1930 

Probate Attorney - ’$ 40,000 $ 34,500 

Indian Schools, Chilocco, Okla. - 356,000 232,500 

Sequoyah Orphan Training School _ 163.,375 93,000 

Bloomfield School _ 74,000 52,000 

Euchee School _ 42,500 39,775 

Aid of Common Schools _ 300,000 250,000 

Eufaula School _ 54,500 58,625 

Cheyenne and Arapaho Hospital _ 45,000' 25,000 

Choctaw Chickasaw Hospital - 50,000 45,000 

Shawnee Sanatorium _ 178,000 60,000 

Seger Hospital, Support _ 7,000 7,000 

Seger Hospital, New Construction - 57,000 

Pawnee and Ponca, Support - 26,000 

Pawnee and Ponca, New Construction - 60,000 

Claremore Hospital - $ 10,000.00 

Administration, Quapaw Agency - 18,000 16,000 

Fulfilling Treaties with Choctaws _ 10,520 10,520 

Support of Quapaws - 2,280 2,280 

Support of Pawnees _ 51,000 51,000 


Totals _ $1,505,175 $1,062,800 

Deficiency Bill. 

Claremore Hospital ___ $ 10,000.00 

Drainage Assessments _ 2,720.94 

Kiowa Hospital _ 91,000.00 


Totals ____ $103,720.94 





























106 Oklahoma History in Figures 

Tribal Fund Appropriations. 

1931 1930 

Advertising sale of land - $ 6,500 $ 10,000 

Per capita payments, Kiowa - 200,000 200,000 

Education and support of tribal schools - 220,000 250,000 

Education, Osage Nation - 12,800 8,,000 

Support, Pawnee _ 3,800 4,500 

Sac and Fox _ 3,000 3,000 

Kiowa _ 60,000 60,000 

Cheyenne and Arapaho - 2,500 17,100 

Expenses, per capita payments Choctaw and Chickasaw — 5,000 5,000 

Expenses of Tribal officers - r —- 25,000 25,000 

Support of Osage Agency _ 190,000 180,000 

Oil and Gas production, Osage - 74,000 80,000 

Expenses, Osage Council _ 10,000 10,000 

Expenses, Choctaw attorneys _ 30,000 

Seminole Attorneys _____ 5,000 


Totals _ $812,600 $887,600 

Deficiency Bill. 

Expenses of Wichita Attorneys _ $ 2,000.00 

Relief of — 

Eloise Childers _ 1,213.24 

Leah Frank _ 624.00 

Effa Cowe _ 1,101.00 

Kiowa per capita payment _ 100,000.00 


Total _ $104,938.24 

Tentative allocation of funds to Oklahoma Activities from 
general appropriations. 

1931 1930 

Pay of Police - $ 5,000 $ 4,834 

Purchase and Transportation _ 25 20 

Industrial Work and Care of Timber _ 38,000 34,657 

Indian School Support - 355,000 341,120 

Indian School Transportation _ 3,000 2,550 

Industry Among Indians _ 5,000 2,500 

Conservation of Health _ 55,000 46,929 

Indian Agency Buildings - 17,000 15,0667 

Indian School Buildings _ 25,000 67,771 

Support of Indians and Administration of Indian Property 265,000 247J76 


Total Treasury Appropriations_$768,025 $763,230 

Unappropriated Indian Funds. 

Indian Moneys, Proceeds of Labor, Schools._ 75,000 75,712 

Indian Moneys, Proceeds of Labor, Agency_ 30,000 29,500 

Miscellaneous Trust Funds_ 2,000 1,822 

Other Unappropriated Funds _ 30M0O 29*200 


Total Unappropriated Indian Funnds _$137,000 $136,234 


Grant Total---$905,025 $899,464 
















































9 


Oklahoma History in Figures 107 


Summary 

Total Interior Department Bill as passed by House, fiscal year 

1981 _ $19,780,129.74 

Total tentatively allocated to Oklahoma (not including any in¬ 
stitution outside of state) _ 2,273,200.00 

Percentage of total Treasury appropriation applied to Oklahoma 11.4% 


Summary of Funds for Oklahoma. 

1931 


Treasury Appropriations _ $2,273,200 

Tribal Funds (authorized) _ 812,600 

Tribal Funds (unauthorized) _ 137,000 


1930 

$1,929,750.94 

992,538:24 

136,234.00 


Total 


.$3,222,800 $3,058,523.18 


The foregoing does not include Osage per capita payments, or per capita 
payment to other tribes not specifically mentioned in an appropriation bill. 

We are unable to furnish the actual cost of highway construction and 
maintenance. That part which is paid by the counties for local purposes 
is set forth in one of the foregoing tables. The amount paid by the State 
exclusively is approximately $14,000,00 per year. We have not attempted 
to tabulate and set forth the cost of town and city government in the State, 
but exclusive of this the actual cost of government in Oklahoma amounts to 
more than $100,000,000.00 per year, and while all of this must be paid 
by the people of the State, it is well to bear in mind that the ad valorem 
tax only supplied a pittance of this) sum ; that for the fiscal year ending June 
30, 1928 amounted to $2,815,768.18, so that it is easily apparent that practic¬ 
ally all the revenue of the State must be raised by other means than ad 
valorem tax. 

Gross Production Tax supplies the largest item of income in the State, 
having paid for the year ending June 30, 1928, $6,873,863.56, of which 
$1,488,350.53 was set aside for weak schools. This tax is paid solely by 
producers of oil and gas in Oklahoma, and the owners of oil and gas pro¬ 
ducing real property. 

The next largest item of revenue comes from the automobile license 
tax, which for the same year produced $5,907,769.48. This was paid, of 
course, by the owners of automobiles. 

The gasoline tax was the next largest item of revenue and from it we 
realized $5,434,000.00. This too was paid by the automobile owners or users 
of gasoline. 

Income tax netted the State $1,088,866.87. 

Taxes on insurance premiums produced a revenue of $1,131,477.36 and 
while this was paid into the Treasury by the insurance companies it was 
paid to them in the first instance by the policy holders in the form of 
premiums charged. 

The office of the Secretary of State earned fees approximating $214,- 
755.20. 

The Corporation Commission collected fees amounting to $118,612.09. 

The Clerk of the Supreme Court collected $38,754.48, and other offices 
and departments turned in varying amounts. But all of these fees were 
paid by the people who received services from these different offices and 
departments, and under whatever name it may be called or in whatever 
account it may be shown the fact remains that the people pay the cost of 
government. 

Thel questions which every citizen of this state should seek to solve 

are: 










108 


Oklahoma History in Figures 


First, can the cost of government be reduced without impairing its ef¬ 
ficiency? Second, are we getting the value of the money spent for govern¬ 
ment? third, is the burden of government cost equally distributed and borne 
by all classes of citizens and all classes of property? 

A study of the tables herein furnished will show that our common school 
expenses are more than $50.00 per year for each child of school age in the 

state of Oklahoma. We can not give the cost as applied to those who 

actually attend school. In a letter from the) state Superintendent of Public 

Instruction dated April 7th. 1930 we have this information: ‘‘In 1927-8 

there were 162 schools that had an enrollment of ten or less. There were 
505 schools that had an average daily attendance of ten or less.” This 
information is significant. It must be borne in mind that the above cost 
per pupil does not include school books and other incidental expenses paid 
by the parents but include only the expenses paid from public funds and 
raised by taxation direct or indirect. The estimate hereinbefore made of 
State highway expense does not include the contributions made for highway 
construction by the Federal Government; and the Federal Government also 
contributes liberally to the support of the national guard maintained in 
Oklahoma which is set forth in a letter from the Adjutant General dated 
July 11, 1930 as folows: 

1st. Ind. 


July 11, 1930. To: Mr. A. L. Beckett, Okmulgee, Oklahoma. 

1. In reply to basic communication, the following is furnished: 

6 Warrant Officers; 395 Officers ; 4,835 Enlisted Men. 

Equipment and Military Stores issued by the Federal Government 
approximately $5,000,000, including 


Horses 360 

Motor Vehicles 258 

(Motor trucks, passenger vehicles, tractors, motorcycles, with 
side cars, and ambulances) 


Received from the Federal Government 
Armory Drill Pay 
Transportation 
Camp pay and expenses 
Caretakers pay 
Miscellaneous expenditure 
Feed, bedding, and veterinary supplies 
Freight, shipments to State 
Expense Sgt. Instructors on duty 
Officers camp and school of instruction 
Improvement Okla. N. G. Site 


during the year 1928 
383,000.00 
110,000.00 
194,000.00 
105,000.00 
100,000.00 
1.600.00 
51,430.00 
14,000.00 
12,000.00 
41,500.00 


Total 


Chas. F. Barrett, 
Adjutant General. 


949,100.00 


It now seems practically certain that the next legislature will be called 
upon to revise our entire tax system. It is, therefore, highly important that 
every citizen of this State should give his attention to a study of government 
expense and the sources of government revenue, and use whatever means 
may be in his power to see to it that the solutions of these great economic 
questions are properly made. That, if possible, government cost be reduced, 
if it may be done without hurtful sacrifice of government service. That 
every class of wealth in the State be made to bear its proper share of the 
tax burden. To this end this little volume is offered for your study and 
consideration. 



Part III 

The Strange Case of Ottawa County 











4 
















* _ 


\ 





I 


I 











-V 





















The Strange Case of Ottawa County 

Every loyal Oklahoman grows just a bit chesty when he 
reads certain statistics regarding our state and compares them 
with other less favored states of our union. We get quite a 
thrill when we read that Ottawa County, in the northeast cor¬ 
ner of Oklahoma, with 504 square miles of territory, produces 
30% of the entire lead and zinc output of the United States; 
that it gives employment to more than 5,000 miners, and that in 
addition to its great mineral wealth, it also has fertile prairies 
and valleys which add their liberal contribution to the sum total 
of wealth produced in the state each year. 

All of this is fine, but if the average citizen should be told 
that Oklahoma as a state would be very much better off finan¬ 
cially if Ottawa County had been given to Missouri or Kansas 
and left out of Oklahoma entirely, he would be somewhat sur¬ 
prised, but it is even true. 

Ottawa County furnishes an outstanding example of the 
effect of legislation and the difference between Ottawa County 
and other counties of the state of Oklahoma is not a difference 
in the character of its population, soil or its industries, but a 
difference which has been made solely by and through the laws 
of the state, especially the law relating to gross production tax. 

Let it be first understood that practically all of Oklahoma’s 
mineral production is oil and gas, coal, lead and zinc; that oil, 
gas and coal are produced in a large number of counties, but our 
entire lead and zinc production is confined to Ottawa County. 

For a long time coal had been the chief mineral output of 
the counties now comprising the state of Oklahoma, but by 1907, 
at the time of the admission of our state into the union, the oil 
industry had grown to considerable proportions, in fact there 
was then the same complaint of over-production that we have 
today and the price of oil was about 42c per barrel. 

In the year 1903, there was produced in Oklahoma 45,799,- 
000 barrels of oil with a market value of $19,235,580.00. The 
coal production that year was 2,948,116 tons, worth $5,976,504.- 
00. Ottawa County’s production in lead and zinc was 12,274 
tons, worth $368,324 on the whole. 

In 1910, the legislature passed what is known as the “Gross 
Revenue Tax,” which was House Bill No. 76, being Chapter 4 
of the session laws of 1910. 

That Act provided that there should be paid one-half of 
one per centum of the gross received from the total production 

(ill) 


112 


The Strange Case of Ottawa County 


of ores bearing lead, zinc, jack, gold, silver, copper or asphalt; 
one-half of one per centum of the gross received from produc¬ 
tion of petroleum or other minerals, oil or natural gas. Such 
taxes to be in addition to the taxes levied and collected upon an 
ad valorem basis upon mining oil and gas property and the 
appurtenances thereunto belonging. All of this tax was paid 
into the general revenue fund of the state and was used by the 
state for general government purposes. 

At the time of the passage of this law, oil production had 
increased to a little more than 52,000,000 barrels, coal had 
decreased somewhat and the tax did not apply to it. The lead 
and zinc production had increased to 17,714 tons with a value 
of $635,136.00. 

This law remained in effect until March 11, 1915, and to 
that time Ottawa County was on the same basis as other min¬ 
eral producing counties in the state. 

For the year 1915 the oil produced in barrels had increased 
to 117,910,444, the price had drooped off again to 58c per barrel. 
The total production value for the year 1915 was $68,388,057.00. 
The value of the lead and zinc output for Ottawa 'County was 
$2,417,771.00. 

Subdivision A of the Laws 1915, provided for a gross pro¬ 
duction tax of 2 % on oil and gas but did not change the amount 
to be charged against lead and zinc and left it at one-half of one 
per cent of the total value of the ore produced. Up to that 
time the gross production had been in addition to ad valorem 
taxes, but by this Act the gross production tax was made the 
sole tax chargeable against all property used in connection with 
the production of oil and gas, lead or zinc, and in this Act the 
first favoritism was shown to Ottawa County. 

When collected this gross production tax was distributed 
one-half to the general revenue fund of the state, the remaining 
one-half was returned to the County from whence the same was 
collected to be used in aid of the common schools of such county. 
Through these provisions, Ottawa County paid on its minerals 
produced, just one-fourth of the taxes charged against other 
counties producing minerals and were exempted from all other 
taxes against their property. 

The extraordinary session of the legislature in 1916 again 
charged the gross production tax. In the meantime the annual 
production of oil had dropped from nearly 118 million barrels 
to 106 million barrels, but the price had increased tp $1.26 per 
barrel, making the oil output worth $133,799,702.00. 

Under the beneficient influence of favorable legislation, or 
from other causes, the value of lead and zinc output had in¬ 
creased to $5,402,512.00, or more than 100%. 


The Strange Case of Ottawa County 


113 


The 1916 Act provided a gross production tax of 3% of 
the gross value of oil and gas produced, but did disturb the 
old rate of one-half of one per cent against Ottawa County’s 
lead and zinc production, and provided that one-half of one per 
cent should be “in full and in lieu of all taxes by the state, 
county, city, town, township, school district and other muni¬ 
cipalities upon any property rights attached to or inherent in 
the right to said minerals upon leases upon the mining of as¬ 
phalt, and ores bearing lead, zinc, jack, gold, and silver.” 

But Ottawa County’s representatives in the legislature were 
not satisfied with that liberal discrimination in their favor, 
they further took care of their interests in the provisions of 
the bill providing for the division and distribution of the taxes. 
The bill provided:— 

“Section 4. The gross production tax provided for in this 
Act is hereby levied and collected for the following specific 
purposes to-wit:— 

(1) For current expenses of state government, two-thirds. 

(2) For and in aid of the common school of the county 
from whence the oil or gas and other mineral is produced, one- 
sixth, (five mills). 

(3) For and in aid of construction of permanent roads and 
bridges of the county from whence the oil or gas and other 
mineral is produced, one-sixth, (five mills).” 

Now those two little words “five mills” inclosed in paren¬ 
thesis at the end of paragraphs two and three in Section 4, as 
construed by those enforcing the laws, have had an amazing 
effect upon Ottawa County and its fiscal relations to the state. 
Without these words, the state would be entitled to retain two- 
thirds of the gross production collected from that county, and 
the county would be entitled to have returned to it the remain¬ 
ing one-third; one-half of which, or one-sixth of the whole, would 
be for aid of common schools and the other one-sixth for roads 
and bridges. But by further defining the amounts to be re¬ 
turned to Ottawa County as “five mills” for school and “five 
mills” for roads, officers administering the collection and dis¬ 
tribution of the tax have some way concluded that the “five 
mills” plus “five mills” for roads would cover all of the one-half 
of one per cent collected from Ottawa County and have re¬ 
turned the whole amount year after year since 1916. 

So administered, the minerals produced from Ottawa Coun¬ 
ty, and all the property of those producing it used in connection 
with its production, had paid not one cent of state taxes nor 
one cent of county, town, township, school district or other muni¬ 
cipal tax. 

While oil and gas has paid 3% of its gross production, of 


114 


The Strange Case of Ottawa County 


which the state has received two-thirds, Ottawa County pro¬ 
ducers of lead and zinc have paid only one-sixth as much taxes 
on their production and the state had received no part of it. 

In the biennial report of the State Auditor of date June 30, 
1928, we find that for the year 1927 Ottawa County paid in 
gross production tax $151,357.99, and that the state returned 
to Ottawa County that year from gross production $160,122.54. 
In 1928 Ottawa County paid $90,630.47 gross production tax 
and received back $90,630.47. Why it returned more than it 
paid in 1927 is not shown in the report. 

Let us see some of the results of this discrimination, not 
only as it affects the state, but as it affects Ottowa County itself 
as a whole. 

Had Ottawa County, in 1928, paid the same rate of gross 
production tax on the same basis as the oil and gas producing 
counties of the state, it would have paid $543,782.82, of which 
the state would have received $362,521.88, and there would have 
been returned to Ottawa County $181,260.94 for road and bridge 
work. So that the state has lost $362,521.88, and Ottawa Coun¬ 
ty has received only one-half the amount which it would have 
received on an equal basis. The only ones benefited by this 
discrimination are the persons and corporations engaged in the 
production of lead and zinc. 

Ottawa County has a population of 38 742, as shown by the 
last census. For purpose of comparison we will take two coun¬ 
ties in the state who are nearest the same population, Payne 
and Carter, and using the Auditor’s report as a basis, we find 
the following: 


County 

Ottawa County 
Payne County 
Carter County 


Population 
. 38,742 
. 35,882 
41,317 


Taxable 

Wealth 

$19,104,832 

44,870,744 

35,325,837 


Weak School 
Aid Received 
$24,464 
2,181 
9,822 


As we know, the weak school aid fund is distributed, not 
in proportion to the population and wealth of the county, but 
in proportion to its need and the poverty of its schools. The 
result of this tax loss on Ottawa County as a whole is easily 
shown by the above figures. The taxable weealth of each of the 
other counties is far greater than Ottawa, and Ottawa has need 
of a far greater sum for its weak schools. 

Let us make some other comparisons. Payne County had 
available for use by the county for general purposes for the 
fiscal year 1929-30 appropriations amounting to $338,419.53, of 
which only $217,081.00 must be raised by ad valorem tax. Carter 
County has available for the same year $235,630.00 of which 





The Strange Case of Ottawa County 


115 


$211,793.00 is to be raised by tax. Ottawa County has only 
$119,733.00 available for all general purposes, including high¬ 
ways, and of this amount must pay $102,210.00 from ad valorem 
tax. Having far less public funds than either of the other coun¬ 
ties, such property as is taxable in Ottawa County must bear a 
higher tax rate than in either of the others. 

Take another comparison. For its bonded indebtedness, 
Ottawa County must provide for this year’s sinking fund $40,- 
981.11, all of which must be raised by ad valorem tax. Payne 
County’s sinking fund requires $67,070.30, no part of which 
has to be paid by ad varorem tax. 

Thus it is clearly demonstrated that while the lead and zinc 
industry is bearing ably one-sixth the tax that is imposed upon 
oil production, the county in which this industry is located suf¬ 
fers heavily in consequence, and the state receives no support 
whatever. 

Notwithstanding the fact that Ottawa County pays to the 
treasury of the state no gross production tax and receives a 
large contribution by way of charity for its weak schools, the 
state also maintains what is denominated a ‘‘Junior College” at 
Miami for which the present year’s appropriation is $115,000.00. 

This apparent favoritism to Ottawa County has not benefited 
the county at large. If there has been any benefit, it has been 
solely to those engaged in the production of lead and zinc. The 
net result has been that the citizenship at large have less taxable 
wealth, poorer highways and schools, and higher taxes than 
other counties in the state with approximately the same popula¬ 
tion. 





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Appendix 

The Indian Constitutions 










































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♦ 















Okmulgee Constitution 

After the close of the Civil War, because of the participation of the 
Five Civilized Tribal Governments with the Confederate States of America, 
the United States Government declared all former treaties with these Indian 
Governments abrogated, and in 1S66, procured new treaties with each of 
these tribal governments and as conditions of these treaties obtained cer¬ 
tain concessions which would not have been possible but for the helpless 
condition in which these tribes found themselves after the disastrous con¬ 
clusion of that war. 

The United States was in need of land which it might use as reservations 
for a number of tribes located in other states and territories and which 
were impeding the orderly progress of settlement and development. For this 
purpose some of the Five Civilized tribes, in the treaties of 1S66, ceded 
to the United States approximately one-half of their landed holdings. These 
cessions together forming that part of our state which was included in 
Oklahoma Territory, except the panhandle. 

Another provision which was incorporated in all these treaties was 
that the several tribes would accept their former slaves as citizens of the 
tribes and permit them to share in their common ownership of land and 
other rights of citizenship. 

Until these treaties the tribal governments had refused to permit any 
railroad right-of-way to be granted, or railroad constructed, through their Na¬ 
tions, and by these treaties they agreed that railroads might build and 
rights-of-way be granted through their several Nations and as a result, the 
M. K. & T. Railroad, north and south, and the Atlantic & Pacific, (now 
the Frisco), east and west were constructed. 

Another provision common to each of these treaties was “That a Coun¬ 
cil consisting of delegates elected by each nation or tribe, lawfully resident 
within the Indian Territory, may be annually convened in said Territory — 
that said Council shall be presided over by the superintendent of Indian 
Affairs.” This Council was given power to enact laws for the government 
of all the Indian tribes located in Oklahoma. 

As a result of this provision of the treaties, a general council was called 
to convene at Okmulgee, then the Capital of the Muskogee Nation, on Septem¬ 
ber 27, A. D., 1870. Before this time a number of Indian reservations had 
been established upon the lands ceded to the government by the Five Civilized 
Tribes and Indians of other tribes removed to and located on these reserva¬ 
tions. All of these tribes were invited to send delegates to and participate 
in the National Council. On the day fixed, delegates were present from 
the following tribes : Cherokee, Muskogee, Ottawa, Eastern Shawnee, Qua- 
paws, Senecas, Wyandottes, Confederate Peorias, etc., Sac & Fox, Absentee 
Shawnees and Great and Little Osages. 

Honorable Enoch Hoag, Indian Superintendent, was present to pre¬ 
side over the council, but declared a quorum not present and adjourned 
until the following day. Additional delegates came until the 29th when a 
quorum was declared present and the council was duly convened with Mr. 
Hoag presiding. 

The Seminole delegates arrived on the 29th. On the 30th. this coun¬ 
cil adjourned to reconvene on the first Monday in December following, and 
invitations were sent to the Comanche, Kiowas, Arapahoe, Cheyenee. Caddo, 
Wichita and other tribes of the plains to send delegates to that council. 

The council again convened December 6. 1870, and delegates from the 

(119) 


120 


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Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations and several of the plains tribes met in 
addition to those who had attended the former session. The council re¬ 
mained in session until December 20, 1870, during which time a constitution 
was prepared and adopted for government of the Indian Territory. 

Delegates from these tribes met in council annually at Okmulgee until 
1878, continuing through all these years their effort to bring this Super- 
Indian Government into existence, but all their labors were in vain. 

The constitution which their delegates drafted and sought to make ef¬ 
fective, is of great historical importance in that it reflects the composite 
governmental ideas of the several Indian Tribes who participated in its 
preparation, and it is included here for the reason that heretofore it has 
never been made generally available for the study of those interested in 
Oklahoma History. 

The Constitution of the Indian Territory 

(Drafted at Okmulgee in 1870.) 

Whereas the people of the nations of Indians inhabiting the Indian 
Territory have agreed by treaty with the Government of the United States, 
and being by its agents invited to meet in General Council under the forms 
prescribed by the Treaties of 1866 and the action thereon of the Govern¬ 
ment of the United States, having thus met to frame the laws and arrange 
the machinery of a government for the country occupied and owned by them, 
in order to draw themselves together in a closer bond of union, for the better 
protection of their rights, the improvement of themselves, and the preserva¬ 
tion of their race and relying on the guidance and favor of Almighty God 
to carry out in a consistent and practicable form the provisions of said 
treaties at the earliest practicable day, do hereby enact and promulgate 
the following as the Constitution or organic law of the said Indian Terri¬ 
tory : 

ART. I 

Sec. 1. All that portion of country bounded on the east by the states 
of Arkansas and Missouri, on the north by the state of Kansas, on the 
west by the Territory of New Mexico and the state of Texas, and on the 
south by the state of Texas, which has been set apart and guaranteed by 
the Treaties and laws of the United States as a permanent home for the 
Indians therein lawfully resident or such as may be in like manner settled 
therein hereafter for the purpose of this Constitution shall be known and 
styled as “The Indian Territory.” 

Sec. 2. Each of the nations of Indians .who by themselves, or through 
their representatives may enter this confederacy, do agree that the citizens 
of each and every one of said nations shall have the same rights of transit, 
commerce, trade, or exchange in any of said nations as he has in his own, 
subject only to consistency with existing treaty stipulations with the United 
States and the laws regulating trade and intercourse, and under such judi¬ 
cal regulations as are hereinafter provided. But no right of property or 
lands, or funds owned by any one nation shall be in any manner invaded 
by citizens of another nation; and it is hereby distinctly'affirmed that the 
rights of each of these nations to its lands, funds and all other property 
shall remain the sole and distinct property of such hation. Any Indian 
nation, now represented in this General Council or which may hereafter 
enter in a legal manner, or be now in said Indian Territory, may be ad¬ 
mitted to representation and all the privileges of this joint government by 
accepting and agreeing through their proper authorities to the provisions of 
this Constitution. 


The Indian Constitutions 


121 


ART. II - 

Sec. 1. The powers of this Government shall be divided into three 
distinct departments, to he called the Legislative, the Executive and the 
Judicial Departments of the Indian Territory. 

Sec. 2. No person belonging to one of these departments shall exercise 
any of the powers properly belonging to either of the others except in cases 
hereinafter expressly directed or permitted. 

ART. Ill 

Sec. 1. The Legislative power shall be vested in a General Assembly 
which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives; and the 
style of "their acts shall be,—“By it enacted,” or “Be it resolved by the 
General Assembly of the Indian Territory.” 

Sec. 2. The Senate shall consist of a member from each nation whose 
population is two thousand citizens, and one member for every additional 
two thousand citizens, or fraction greater than one thousand. Provided, 
nations with populations less than two thousand may unite and be repre¬ 
sented in the same ratio, and provided further, that the Ottawas, Peorias 
and Quapaws shall be entitled to one senator, and the Senecas, Wyandotts 
and Shawnees to one senator, and the Sac & Foxes to one senator. 

Sec. 3. No person shall be eligible to a seat in the General Assembly, 
but a bona fide citizen of the nation which he represents and who shall 
have attained the age of twenty-five years. 

Sec. 4. The House of Representatives shall consist of one member from 
each nation and an additional member for each one thousand citizens or 
fraction thereof greater than five hundred. 

Sec. 5. The members of the Senate and House of Representatives shall 
be elected by the qualified voters of their respective nations according to 
their laws or customs and shall hold their office for the term of two years. 
Vacancies that may occur shall be filled in like manner. 

Sec. G. The Senate when assembled shall choose a President and its 
other officers, and the House of Representatives a speaker and other officers; 
and each shall judge of the qualifications and returns of its own members. 
A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a 
smaller number may adjourn from day to day and compel the attendance 
of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each house 
may provide. 

Sec. 7. Each branch of the General Assembly shall keep a journal 
and determine the rules of its proceedings, punish a member for disorderly 
behavior and with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member, but not 
a second time for the same offense. 

Sec. 8. The General Assembly shall have power to legislate upon all 
subjects and matters pertaining to the intercourse and relations of the na¬ 
tions of the Indian Territory, the arrest and extradition of criminals escap¬ 
ing from one nation to another; the administration of justice between mem¬ 
bers of the several nations of the said Territory and persons other than 
Indians and members of said nations; and the common defense and safety of 
the nations of said Territory. But the said General Assembly shall not 
legislate upon matters other than those above indicated. The General As- 


122 


The Indian Constitutions 


sembly shall meet annually on the first Monday in June at such place as 
may be fixed upon at their regular session. 

Sec. 9. Members of the General Assembly and other officers, both 
Executive and Judicial, before they enter upon the duties of their respect¬ 
ive offices, shall take the following oath of affirmation, to-wit: ‘‘I do solemnly 
swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that 1 will support the Constitution 
of the Indian Territory and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge 

to the best of my ability, the duties of the office of- 

according to law. So help me God.” 

Sec. 10. The members of the General Assembly shall be paid four dol¬ 
lars per day while in actual attendance thereon and four dollars mileage 
for every twenty miles going and returning therefrom on the most direct 
travelled route, to be certified by the presiding officer of each house. Pro¬ 
vided no member shall be allowed per diem compensation for more than 
thirty days at any annual session. 

Sec. 11. Members of the General Assembly shall in all cases except 
of treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during 
the session of the General Assembly and in going to and returning from 
the same. 

Sec. 12. No power of suspending the laws of this territory shall be 
exercised unless by the General Assembly or its authority. No retrospective 
law nor any law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed. 

Sec. 13. Whenever the General Assembly shall deem it necessary to 
provide means to support the Government of the Indian Territory, it shall 
have the power to do so; but no revenue shall be raised not actually neces¬ 
sary and in accordance with law, uniform in its operations throughout the 
Territory. 

Sec. 14. All bills making appropriations shall originate in the House 
of Representatives; but the Senate may propose amendments or reject the 
same. All other bills may originate in either branch subject to the concur¬ 
rence or rejection of the other. 

Sec. 15. The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of 
impeaching. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate. When sitting 
for that purpose, the Senators shall be on oath or affirmation and shall be 
presided over by the Chief Justice; and no person shall be convicted without 
the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. 

Sec. 10. The governor and all Civil officers shall be liable to impeach¬ 
ment for any misdemeanor in office; but judgment in such cases shall not 
extend further than removal from office and disqualification to hold any 
office of honor, trust or profit under this Government; but the party 
whether convicted or acquitted, shall nevertheless be liable to indictment, 
trial and punishment according to law as in other cases. 

Sec. IT. The salaries of all officers created under this Constitution, 
not otherwise provided shall be regulated by law, but no increase or dimuni¬ 
tion shall be made in the same during the term for which said officers may 
have been elected or appointed. 

ART. IV 

Sec. 1. The executive power of the Territory shall be vested in a 
Governor who shall be styled the Governor of the Indian Territory, and whose 
term of office shall be two years, and until his successor shall be elected 
and qualified. He shall be elected by the qualified electors of each nation 



The Indian Constitutions 


123 


on the first Wednesday in April at the usual places of holding* elections 
of the several nations. The returns of the election of Governor shall be sealed 
up and directed to the Secretary of the Territory who shall open and publish 
thein in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives in joint 
session assembled. The person having the highest number of votes shall 
be declared Governor by the president of the Senate ; but if two or more 
shall be equal and highest in votes, then one of them shall be chosen by 
the majority of votes by joint ballot of both Houses of the General Assembly. 

Sec, 2. The manner of conducting and determining contested elections 
shall be by law. 

Sec.. 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor who shall 
not have attained the age of thirty years 

. S ec \ 4. Whenever the office of Governor shall become vacant by death, 
resignation, removal from office or otherwise, the President of the Senate 
shall exercise the office, until another Governor shall be duly qualified. In 
case of the death, resignation, removal from office or other disqualifications 
of the President of the Senate so exercising the office of Governor, the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives shall fill the office until the Presi¬ 
dent of the Senate shall have been chosen and qualified to act as Governor. 

Sec. 5. The Governor shall receive at stated times for his services a 
compensation to be fixed by law which shall be neither increased nor dim¬ 
inished during the period for which he shall have been elected, nor shall 
he receive within that period other emoluments from the Indian Territory. 

Sec. 6. The Governor shall from time to time give to the General As¬ 
sembly information in writing of the state of the Government and recom¬ 
mended to its consideration such measures as he may deem expedient and 
shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 

Sec. 7. The Governor, on extraordinary occasions may by proclamation 
convene the General Assembly at the seat of Government to legislate upon 
such matters only as he may recommend. 

Sec. 8. When vacancies occur in offices the appointment of which is 
vested in the Governor by and with the consent of the Senate, he shall 
have power to fill such vacancies by commission which shall expire at the 
end of the next session of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 9. The Governor may grant pardons, and respites and remit fines 
for offenses against the laws of this Territory, and shall commission all 
officers who shall be appointed or elected to office under the laws of the 
Territory. 

Sec. 10. Every bill which shall have passed both houses of the General 
Assembly shall be presented to the Governor; if he approves, he shall sign 
it; if not he shall return it, with his objection, to the house in which it 
may have originated, which shall enter the objections at large upon the 
journal and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two- 
thirds of the members present shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent 
with the. objections to the other house, by which it shall likewise be re-, 
considered; if approved by two-tliirds of the members of that house, it 
shall become a law; but in such case the votes of both houses shall be de¬ 
termined by yeas and nays, and the names of members voting for and against 
the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any 
bill shall not be returned by th e Governor within five clays (Sunday ex¬ 
cepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall become 


124 


The Indian Constitutions 


a law in like manner as if lie had signed it unless the General Assembly by 
their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall be a law unless 
sent back within three days after their next meeting. 

Sec. 11. There shall be a Secretary of said Territory who shall be 
appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate and 
who shall hold his office for two years, and whose duties shall be pre¬ 
scribed by law. He shall also act as treasurer of the Territory until other 

wise provided. Before entering upon his duties as Treasurer, he shall 
give bond with such sureties as may be required by law. No money shall 

be drawn from the Treasury but by warrant from the Governor, and' in 

consequence of appropriations made by law. There shall also be appointed 
in like manner one Marshal who shall have power to appoint such deputies 
as may be authorized. There shall likewise be appointed one Attorney 
General and two District Attorneys, whose duties and terms of office shall 
be defined by law. 

Sec. 12. All commissions shall be in the name and by the authority 
of the Indian Territory, and be sealed with the Seal and signed by the 
Governor and attested by the Secretary of the Territory. 

ART. Y. 

Sec 1. The Judicial Department of the Indian Territory shall be vested 
in a Supreme Court, three District Courts and such inferior courts as may be 
provided by law; but their jurisdiction shall not interfere with the civil 
and crminal jurisdiction retained to each separate nation by the treaties 
of 1S66. 

Sec. 2. The Supreme Court shall be composed of the three Judges who 
shall he appointed by the Governor with the approval of the Senate as 
District Judges. Two of said Judges shall form a quorum of the Supreme 
Court for the transaction of business. Their term of office shall be six 
years, provided that the office of one of said judges shall be vacated fn two 
years, of one in four years, and of one in six years, so that at the expiration 
of each two years one said judges shall be appointed as aforesaid. The 
judge appointed for six years shall be the First Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court and upon the expiration of his term the senior judge in office shall 
be thereafter Chief Justice. 

Sec 3. The Supreme Court shall meet at the Capital commencing on 
the first Mondays in June and December in each year. The Supreme Court 
shall be the court of appellate jurisdiction from the district courts and 
original jurisdiction in such cases as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 4. The Supreme District judges shall have power to issue writs 
of Habeas Corpus and other process necessary to the exercise of their ap¬ 
pellate or original jurisdiction. 

Sec. o. . The District Court shall have original jurisdiction of all cases 
civil and criminal arising from the trade or intercourse between the several 
nations and all cases arising under the legislation of this government as 
may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 6. Writs of error, bills of exceptions, and appeals may be allowed 
from the final decisions of the District Courts in such cases as shall be pre- 
cribed by law. 

Sec. 7. It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to divide the 
Indian Territory into three districts which shall be as nearly equal in 


The Indian Constitutions 


125 


territory and population as may be practicable, assign one of tbe three 
judges to each district and provide for the holding of terms of the district 
court in each at such time and places as may be deemed expedient. 

Sec. S. No person shall be appointed a judge of any of the Courts 
until he shall have attained the age of thirty years and be a person of good 
character and suitable qualifications. 

Sec. 9. No judge shall sit ou a trial of any case in which he may be 
interested, or in which he is connected to either of the parties by affinity 
or consanguinity, except by consent of the parties; and in case of disquali¬ 
fication of any judge, the vacancy shall be filled as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 10. All writs and other process shall run in the name of the Indian 
Territory and bear test and be signed by the Clerk issuing the same. 

Sec. 11. Indictments shall conclude “Against the peace and dignity of 
the Indian Territory.” 

Sec. 12. Each court shall appoint its own Clerk whose duty and com¬ 
pensation shall be fixed by law. 

ART. VI 

Sec. 1. The General Assembly may propose such amendments to this 
Constitution as three-fourths of each branch may deem expedient; and the 
Governor shall issue a proclamation directing all civil officers of the Terri¬ 
tory to promulgate the same as extensively as possible within their respect¬ 
ive districts, at least six months previous to the annual sessions of the Na¬ 
tional Councils of the nations parties hereto; and if three-fourths of such Na¬ 
tional Councils at such next annual sessions shall ratify such proposed amend¬ 
ments they shall be valid to all intents and purposes as parts of this Con¬ 
stitution. 

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS 

That the general, great and essential principles of liberty and free gov¬ 
ernment may be recognized and established we declare: 

Sec. 1. That all political power is inherent in the people and all free 
governments are founded on their authority and instituted for their bene¬ 
fit ; and they shall have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or 
abolish their forth of government as may be lawfully provided for. 

Sec. 2. The free exercise of religious worship and serving God without 
distinction of creed shall forever be enjoyed within the limits of this Ter¬ 
ritory. Provided that the liberty of conscience shall not be construed as 
to excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practices inconsistent with the 
peace, safety and good morals of this Territory 

Sec. 3. No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to 
any office of public trust in this Territory. 

Sec. 4. Every citizen shall be at liberty to speak, write or publish liis 
opinions on any subject being responsible for the abuse of this privilege; 
and no law shall ever be passed curtailing the liberty of speech or of the 
press. 

Sec. 5. The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers and 
possessions from all unreasonable searches, seizures, and intrusions; and 
no warrant to search any place or to seize any person or thing shall be issued 


126 


The Indian Constitutions 


without describing them as nearly as may be, nor without good cause sup¬ 
ported by oath or affirmation. 

Sec. G. In all criminal prosecutions thfe accused shall have a speedy 
public trial by an impartial jury of the district wherein the crime shall 
have been committed; the right of demanding the i iture and cause tif the 
accusation, of having the witnesses to testify in his presence, of having 
compulsory process to procure witnesses in his favor, of having the right 
to be heard by himself and counsel, of not being compelled to testify against 
himself, nor to be held to answer any criminal charge but on information or 
indictment by a grand jury. 

Sec. 7. All prisoners shall be bailable before conviction by sufficient 
surety except for a capital offense where the proof is evident or the pre¬ 
sumption great. 

Sec. S. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im¬ 
posed, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted, and all courts shall be 
open and every person for an injury done him in his person, reputation or 
property, shall have remedy as the law directs. 

Sec. 9. No person for the same offense shall twice be put in jeopardy 
of life or limb and the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate. 

Sec. 10. No person snail be imprisoned for debt. 

Sec. 11. The citizens shall have the right in a peaceable manner to as¬ 
semble for their common good, to instruct their representatives and to ap¬ 
ply to those vested with the powers of government for redress of griev¬ 
ances or other purposes, by petition, address or remonstrance. 

Sec. 12. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus¬ 
pended unless the public safety shall require it. 

Sec. 13. All powers not herein expressly granted by the nations par¬ 
ties to this constitution are reserved by them respectively according to the 
provisions of their several treaties with the United States. 

SCHEDULE FOR THE CONSTITUTION 

In order to organize the Government of the Indian Territory, and se¬ 
cure practical operation for the same, it is hereby ordained That the pro¬ 
visions of this schedule shall be of the same binding force as the Constitu¬ 
tion, of which it is a part that it shall be the duty of the Secretary of 
this General Council to transmit a duly authenticated copy of this Consti- 
tion to the executive authority of each nation represented in the General 
Council and to ask the acceptance and ratification of the same by Councils 
or people of the respective Nations. 

Upon receiving from such authority notifications of its acceptance and 
ratification by National Councils representing two-thirds of the population of 
the nations represented in the General Councils, it shall be his duty to 
promulgate such fact, and to call a session of the General Council from 
the nations ratifying this general Constitution at such place as the present 
session may designate for its next meeting. It shall be the duty of the 
General Council when so assempled to a'dopt such measures as may be 
necessary to secure the election of a Governor and members of the General 
Assembly, and to fix the time of the first meeting of said assembly, whose 
duty it shall be to perfect the organization of a Government of the Indian 
Territory under the provisions cf the foregoing Constitution. 


The Indian Constitutions 


127 


Provided, that this Constitution shall be obligatory and binding only 
upon such nations and tribes as may hereafter duly approve and adopt the 
same. 

G. W. GRAYSON, Secretary. 


LIST OF DELEGATES TO OKMULGEE CONSTITUTIONAL 

CONVENTION 

CHEROKEE NATION, Wm. P. Ross, Riley Keys, Allen Ross, S. H. 
Benge, J. A." Scales, O. H. P. Brewer, S. M. Taylor, Stealer, Joseph Vann, 
Moses Alberty, Ezekial Proctor, Stand Watie, Henry Chambers, Olement 
N. Vann, Geo. W. Johnson, J. W. Adair, Joseph Johnson, I. G. Vore, Secre¬ 
tary of Convention. 

MUSKOGEE NATION, G. W. Stidham, Pleasant Porter, John R. Moore, 
L. C. Perryman, G. W. Grayson, Joseph M. Perryman, Sanford W. Perry¬ 
man, Oktar-har-sars Harjo, Timothy Barnard, J. M. O. Smith, George W. 
Walker, Charke Martup Yoholar, David M. Hodge. 

OTTAWA NATION, Francis King. 

EASTERN CHEROIvEES, Lazarus Flint. 

QUAPAWS, George Lane, Robert Lumbard. 

SENECAS, James King, George Spicer. 

WYANDOTTE S, James Hicks, George Wright. 

SAC AND FOX, Keokuk, Mattatah. 

CONFEDERATE PEORIAS & C, Edward Black. 

ABSENTEE SIJAWNEES, John White, Joseph Ellis. 

GREAT AND LITTLE OSAGES, Augustus Captain, Wm. Connor, Wah- 
tah-in-kali. 

SEMINOLE NATION, Fus-hat-che Harjo, John F. Brown, Cot-cho-che, 
E. J. Brown. 

CHICKASAW NATION, Charles P. H. Percy, Joseph James, Hopiah- 
tubbe- Colbert Carter, Jackson Kemp. 

CHOCTAW NATION, Campbell LeFlore, John McKinney, William Fry, 
Ma-ha-tubbe, Alexander R. Durant, James Thompson, Joseph P. Fulsom, Al¬ 
fred Wright, Coleman Cole. 

Interpreters for the Muskogee and Seminole Nations, David M. Hodge, 
Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations, Joseph P. Fulsom. Absentee Shawnees, 
Robert Deer. 


Constitution of the State of Sequoyah 

PREAMBLE 

Invoking the blessing of Almighty God and reposing faith in the Con¬ 
stitution and Treaty obligations of the United States, we, the people of the 
State of Sequoyah, do ordain and establish this Constitution. 

ARTICLE I 
BILL OF RIGHTS 

See. 1. All political power is vested in and derived from the people; 
is founded upon their will, and is instituted for the good of the whole. 

Sec. 2. The people of this State have the inherent and exclusive right 
to regulate the internal government and police therof, and to alter and 
abolish their Constitution and form of government whenever they may deem 
it necessary to their safety and happiness: Provided, such change be not 
in conflict with the Constitution of the United States. 

Sec. 3. All persons have an inherent right to life, liberty, the pursuit 
of happiness, and the enjoyment of the gains of their own industry. To g ,v e 
security to these things is the principal office of government. 

Sec. 4. All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship God 
according to the dictates of their own consciences. No person shall, on ac¬ 
count of his religious opinions, be rendered ineligible to any office of trust 
or profit under this State, or be disqualified from testifying, or from serving 
as a juror. No human authority can control or interfere with the rights 
of conscience. No person ought, by any law, to be molested in his person or 
estate on account of his religious persuasian or profession; but this liberty 
of conscience shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, nor 
to justify practices inconsistent with the good order, peace, or safety of this 
State, or with the rights of others. 

Sec. 5. No person can be compelled to erect, support or attend any 
place or system of worship, or to maintain or support any priest, minister, 
preacher, or teacher of any sect, church, creed, or denomination of religion; 
but, if any person shall voluntarily make a contract for any such object, he 
shall be held to the performance of the same. 

Sec. 6. No money shall ever be taken from the public Treasury, directly 
or indirectly, in aid of any church, sect, or denomination of religion, or in 
aid of any priest, preacher, minister, or teacher thereof, as such. No pref¬ 
erence shall be given to, nor any discrimination made against, any church, 
sect, or creed of religion, or any form of religious faith or worship. 

Sec. 7. No religious corporation can be established in this State, except 
such as may be created under general law for the purpose only of holding 
the title to such real estate as may be prescribed by law for church edifices, 
parsonages, cemeteries, and educational and eleemosynary institutions. 

Sec. 8. No power shall interfere to prevent the free exercise of the 
right of suffrage; and all elections shall be free and open. 

( 128 ) 


The Indian Constitutions 


129 


Sec. 9. The courts of justice shall be open to every person, and remedy 
offered for every injury to person, property, or reputation, and right and 
justice shall be administered without sale, denial, delay, or prejudice. In 
criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the right to appear and defend 
in person and by counsel; to know the accusation against him ; to be fur¬ 
nished the names of the witnesses and an abstract of the evidence adduced 
against him upon .which the indictment was found by the grand jury; to 
be confronted with the witnesses against him : in all cases to have com¬ 
pulsory process for the attendance of witnesses in his behalf; and to a speedy 
trial by an impartial jury of the county or district in which the offense is 
alleged to have been committed. 

Sec. 10. No person shall be compelled to testify against himself in any 
criminal case, nor shall any person be twice put in jeopardy for the same 
offense. If the jury disagree; if a new trial be granted by the court; if 
the judgment be reversed after verdict; or, if the judgment be reversed for 
error in law, the accused shall not be deemed to have been in jeopardy. 

Sec. 11. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate; but a jury 
for the trial of criminal or civil cases, in courts not of record, may consist 
of less than twelve men, as may be prescribed by law; a jury trial may be 
waived by the jjarties in civil cases in manner prescribed by law, and a 
jury in a civil case may render a verdict by a majority vote. A grand jury 
shall consist of twelve men, any nine of whom, concurring, may find an in¬ 
dictment. 

Sec. 12. No person shall, for felony, be proceeded against criminally 
otherwise than by indictment, except in cases arising in the land or naval 
forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public 
danger; in all other cases offenses may be prosecuted criminally by indict¬ 
ment or information, as shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 13. No person shall, without due process of law, be deprived of 
life, liberty, or property. 

Sec. 14. Imprisonment for debt shall not be allowed, except for the 
non-payment of fines and penalties imposed for violation of law. 

Sec. 15. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, excepT for 
capital offenses, when the proof of guilt is evident, or the presumption 
great. 

Sec. 16. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im¬ 
posed, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted. 

Sec. 17. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus¬ 
pended, unless when in case of rebellion or invasion the public safety may 
require it. 

Sec. 18. The military shall always be in subordination to the civil 
power. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without 
the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, except in the manner pre¬ 
scribed by. law. 

Sec. 19. No law shall be passed impairing the freedom of speech. Every 
person shall be free to say, write, or publish, whatever he will, on any sub¬ 
ject, being responsible for all abuse of that liberty. In case of suit and 
prosecution for libel or slander, the truth thereof may be given in evidence. 

Sec. 20. The people shall be secure in their persons, papers, homes, 
and effects, from unreasonable seai'ches or seizures; and no warrant shall 


130 


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issue to search any place, or to seize any person, or thing, except upon com¬ 
plaint in writing, supported by oath or affirmation, describing, as nearly as 
may be, the place to be searched, or the person or thing to be seized. 

Sec. 21. The right of a citizen to keep or bear arms in the common 
defense, and in aid of the civil power, when thereto legally summoned, shall 
not be questioned; but nothing, herein contained shall justify wearing con¬ 
cealed weapons. 

Sec. 22. Private property can not be taken for private use, with or 
without compensation, without the consent of the owner, except for private 
ways of necessity, for drains and ditches across the lands of others for agri¬ 
cultural, mining, milling, power, light, manufacturing and sanitary pur¬ 
poses, and then only in such manner as may be prescribed by law. Whenever 
an attempt is made to take private property for a use alleged to be public, 
the question whether the contemplated use be really public shall be a judicial 
question, and as such, judicially determined without regard to any legis¬ 
lative assertion that the use is public. 

Sec. 23. Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public 
use without just compensation, to be ascertained by a jury, or board of com¬ 
missioners of not less than three freeholders, in such manner as may be 
prescribed by law; and, until the same is paid to the owner, or into court- 
subject to his unconditional order, the property shall not be disturbed nor 
his right therein divested. The fee of land taken for railroad purposes, 
without consent of the owner, shall remain in him subject to the use for 
which it is taken. 

Sec. 24. Laws impairing the obligation of contracts, or making irre¬ 
vocable grants of special privileges or immunities; Ex post facto laws, or 
such as are retrospective in their operation, shall not be enacted by the 
General Assembly; nor shall separate or exclusive emoluments or privileges 
be granted, except in consideration of adequate public service. 

Sec. 25. Treason against this State can consist only in levying war 
against it, adhering to its enemies, or giving them aid or comfort. No per¬ 
son shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses 
to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. No person shall be 
attainted of treason or felony by the legislature. No conviction can work 
corruption of blood or forfeiture of estate; and the estates of such persons 
as may destroy their own lives shall descend or vest as in cases of natural 
death. 

Sec. 26. Slavery shall never exist in this State; neither shall invol¬ 
untary servitude, except as punishment for crime, whereof the criminal shall 
have been duly convicted. The State shall not lease or sell the labor of con¬ 
victs, but may use it in employments not harmful to them. 

Sec. 27. Persons elected or appointed to any office or employment 
of trust or profit under the laws of this State, or of any municipality there¬ 
in, shall personally devote their time to the performance of the duties 
thereunto pertaining. 

Sec. 28. The people have the right peaceably to assemble for their 
own good, and, by petition or remonstrance, to seek from those invested with 
the powers of government, redress of grievances. 

Sec. 29. All persons are, and shall be, equal before the law. No citizen 
shall ever be deprived of any right, privilege, or immunity, or exempted 


The Indian Constitutions 


131 


from any duty or responsibility, on account of race, color, or previous con¬ 
dition. 

Sec. 30. All rights not specifically granted to the State by the terms 
of this Constitution, are reserved to the people. 

. Sec. 31. The State of Sequoyah is an inseparable part of the Federal 
Union, and the Constitution of the United States is the Supreme Law of 
the land. 


ARTICLE II 

DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS 

The powers of government shall be divided into three distinct depart¬ 
ments—the Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial—each of which shall 
be confined to a separate magistracy, and no person or collection of persons, 
charged with the exercise of powers properly belonging to one of these 
departments, shall exercise any pow T er properly belonging to either of the 
others, except in the instances in this Constitution expressly authorized. 

ARTICLE III 

LEG IS LATIVE DEPARTM ENT 

Sec. 1. The legislative power of this state shall be vested in a General 
Assembly, wfhich shall consist of a Senate and House, of Representatives, 
and be styled the “General Assembly of the State of Sequoyah.” The en¬ 
acting clause of every law shall be, “Be it enacted by the General Assembly 
of the State of Sequoyah.” 

Sec. 2. The Senate shall consist of twenty-one members, one to be 
chosen from each senatorial district, whose term of office'shall be four 
years : Provided, At the first election under this Constitution the Senators 
for the odd numbered districts shall be elected for two years only. 

Sec. 3. * The House of Representatives shall consist of not less than 
forty-eight, nor more than seventy-five members, to be chosen biennially, 
whose term of office shall be two years. 

Sec. 4. No person shall be a Senator or Representative, who, at the 
time of election, is not a citizen of the United States, and of this State, and 
who has not been, for one year next preceding his election, an actual res¬ 
ident of the county or district for which he is chosen. Senators shall be at 
least twenty-five years, and Representatives at least twenty-one years of 
age. 


Sec. 5. The term of all members of the General Asstmbly shall begin 
on the day of their election. 

Sec. 6 The General Assembly shall meet, biennially, at the seat of 
government, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January, until 
otherwise provided by law; but its first session, under this Constitution, shall 
be held as herein provided. 

Sec. 7. The Governor shall, within ten days after any vacancy occurs 
in either house, issue a writ of election to fill such vacancy. 

Sec. 8. No collection or holder of public money shall be eligible to any 
office or trust or profit in this State, until he shall have accounted for and 
paid over all sums for which he may have been liable. 


132 


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Sec. 9. No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being, nor 
any person who has been, or may hereafter be, convicted of embezzlement, 
or defalcation of the public funds of the United States, oj of any sTate, 
county, or municipality therein, or who has been convicted of a felony, shall 
ever be eligible to any office of trust, or profit in this State: Provided, 
Persons who have, heretofore, been convicted of the crimes of unlawfully 
introducing, or of unlawfully disposing of, intoxicating liquors, shall not, 
on that account, be considered as coming within the disqualification pre¬ 
scribed in this section. The General Assembly shall provide by law, for the 
punishment of embezzlement or defalcation as a felony. 

Sec. 10. No member of the General Assembly shall be eligible to any 
other office in this State, nor to any office created by the General Assembly 
during his term of office. 

Sec. 11. Each House shall elect or appoint its own officers and em¬ 
ployes, and shall be the sole judge of the election and qualifications of its 
members. A majority of all members elected to each House shall constitute 
a quorum to do Business; but a smaller number of either House may ad¬ 
journ from day to day, and compel the attendance of its absent members, in 
such manner, and under such penalties, as it may provide. 

Sec. 12. Each House shall have the power to determine the rules of 
its proceedings; to punish its members or other persons, for contempt, or 
disorderly behavior in its presence; to enforce obedience to its process; to 
protect its members against violence, unlawful restraint, offers of bribes, 
or private solicitation; and, by a two-thirds vote, to expel a member, but 
not a second time for the same offense. A member expelled for corruption, 
shall not, thereafter, be eligible to membership in either House; and such 
punishment shall not bar an indictment and punishment for such offense. 

Sec. 13. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and, from 
time to time, publish the same, except such parts as require secrecy. The 
“yeas” and “nays” on a question, shall, upon the demand of three mem¬ 
bers, be entered on the journal. 

Sec. 14. The Sessions of each House shall be open, except when, in 
the opinion of its members, its business requires secrecy. 

Sec. 15. Whenever an officer, civil or military, shall be appointed by 
the joint, or concurrent, vote of both Houses, or by the separate vote of 
either House, the vote shall be taken by “yeas” and “nays,” and entered on 
the journals. 

Sec. 16. Members of the General Assembly shall be privileged from 
arrest during attendance at the Sessions of their respective Houses, and 
in going to, and returning from the same, except for treason, felony, and 
breaches of the peace; and for any speech or debate in either House, they 
shall not be questioned in any other place. 

Sec. 17. The members of the General Assembly shall be paid the sum 
of six dollars per day, for the days in session, not exceeding ninety days, 
and the sum of ten cents per mile from their homes to the Capitol, 'by the 
nearest traveled route; but such limitation of time shall not apply to its 
first session held under this Constitution. 

Sec. IS. Each House, at the beginning of every regular session of 
the General Assembly, and whenever a vacancy may occur, "shall elect from 
its members, a presiding officer, to be styled, respectively, President of the 
Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives; and whenever, at 
the close of any session, it may appear that the term of office of Hie Senator 


The Indian Constitutions 


133 


who has been elected President of the Senate, will expire before the next 
regular Session, the Senate shall elect as President, another Senator whos^ 
term of office does not so expire, who shall immediately qualify; and, in 
case of a vacancy in the office of .Governor, or absence of the Governor 
from the State, or in case of the temporary mental, or physical, incapacity of 
the Governor to perform the duties of his office, such President of the Sen¬ 
ate shall perform the duties, and exercise the powers, of Governor, as else¬ 
where herein provided. 

Sec. 19. No law shall be passed except by bill, and no billl shall be 
so altered or amended on its passage through either house as to change its 
original purpose, and the contents of each bill, or resolution, shall be plainly 
and fully stated in its title. 

Sec. 20. Every bill shall be read at length, on three several days in 
each House, unless the rules be suspended by a two-thirds vote of the House 
before which it is pending, when the same may be read the second and 
third times on the same day ; and no bill shall become a law unless, on its 
final passage, the vote be taken by “yeas” and “nays.’’ The names of the 
members voting for and against the same shall be entered on the journals, 
and a majority of each House must be recorded thereon as voting in its 
favor. 


Sec. 21. A law may be revived, amended, or its provisions extended 
only by reenacting, and publishing it at length, and not otherwise. 

Sec. 22. The General Assembly shall not pass local or special laws in 
any of the following enumerated cases: 

Changing the names of persons or places; laying out, opening, altering, 
and working roads or highways; vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys, 
and public grounds; locating, or changing county seats; regulating county 
and township affairs; regulating practice in the courts; regulating the juris¬ 
diction and duties of justices of the peace, police magistrates, and con¬ 
stables ; providing for changes of venue in civil and criminal cases; incor¬ 
porating cities, towns, or villages, or changing or amending the charter of 
any town, city or village; providing for the election of members of the 
Board of County Commissioners in any county, or the election of officers of 
incorprated towns or cities; summoning and impaneling grand, or petit 
juries; providing for the management of common schools; regulating the 
rate of interest on money; opening and conducting of any elections, or des¬ 
ignating the place of voting; the sale or mortgage of real estate belonging 
to minors or others under disability; the protection of game or fish; char¬ 
tering or licensing ferries or toll bridges; remitting fines, penalties, or for¬ 
feitures ; creating, increasing, or decreasing fees, per centage or allowances 
of public officers during the term for which said officers are elected or 
appointed; changing the law of descent; granting to any corporation, as¬ 
sociation, or individual, the right to lay down railroad tracts, or amending 
existing charters for such purposes; granting to any corporation, association, 
or individual, any special or exclusive privilege, immunity or franchise: 
In these, and in all other cases where a general law can be made applicable, 
no special law Shall be enacted. 

Sec. 23. The General Assembly shall not have power to release or ex¬ 
tinguish, in whole, or in part, the indebtedness, liability, or obligation of 
any corporation, or individual, to this state, or any county, district, or min- 
nic-ipal corporation therein. 

Sec. 24. No local or special bill shall be passed, unless notice of the in¬ 
tention to apply therefor, shall be published in the locaity where the matter, 
or thing to be affected, is situated, which notice shall be published at least 



134 


The Indian Constitutions 


thirty days prior to the introduction of the bill in the manner provided by 
law, and the evidence of the publication of such notice shall be exhibited 
and entered upon the journals of both houses of the General Assembly before 
the act is passed. 

Sec. 25. No extra compensation shall be made to any officer, agent, 
employe, or contractor, after the contract is made or the service rendered; 
nor shall any money be appropriated, or paid, on any claim, the subject 
matter of which shall not have been provided for by preexisting Taw, unless 
such compensation, or claim, be allowed by bill, passed by two-thirds of 
the members elected to each House of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 26. Neither House shall, without the consent of the other, ad¬ 
journ for more than three days, nor to any other place than that at which 
the two Houses are sitting. 

Sec. 27. No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, except in pur 
suance of specilc appropriations made by law, the purpose of such appro¬ 
priations and the maximum amount in dollars and cents being distinctly 
stated in the bill; and no appropriation shall be made for a longer period 
than two years. 

Sec. 28. The General Appropriation Bill shall embrace nothing but 
appropriations for the ordinary expenses of the executive, legislative and 
judicial departments of the State: All other appropriations shall be made 
by separate bills, each embracing but one subject. 

Sec. 29. No State tax shall be provided for, or appropriation of money 
made, except by a two-thirds vote of both Houses, for any purpose other 
than to pay the just debts of the State; to defray the necessary expenses 
of the government; to sustain public schools, and eleemosynary institutions; 
to repel invasion, and suppress insurrection or riot; to maintain necessary 
quarantine; and to protect human life: Provided, In case the revenues of 
the State, within the maximum limit of taxation authorized by this Con¬ 
stitution, are insufficient for its lawful expenditures, the General Assembly 
may, from time to time, during the first twenty-five years next after the 
admission of this State into the Union, borrow the necessary amounts of 
money not exceeding, in the aggregate, ten million dollars, to be due and 
payable at any time to be fixed by law, not exceeding forty years from 
date of loan, the rate of interest not to exceed four per centum per annum. 

Sec. 30. No Act of the General Assembly shall limit the amount to 
be recovered for injuries resulting in death, or for injuries to person or prop¬ 
erty; and, in case of death from injuries, the right of action shall survive, 
and the General Assembly shall prescribe in whose name- and for whose ben¬ 
efit, such action shall be prosecuted. 

Sec. 31. No obligation or liability held or owned by the State against 
any railroad, or other corporation, shall ever be exchanged, transferred, re¬ 
mitted, postponed, or in any way diminished, by the General Assembly; 
nor shall such obligation or liability be released, except by payment thereof 
into the State Treasury. 

Sec. 32. No new bill shall be introduced into either House during the 
last three days of the session. 

Sec. 33. The General Assembly shall have power to create new coun¬ 
ties; to change county lines; to locate or change the State Capital, as pro¬ 
vided by this Constitution, and to locate or change the location of all other 
State institutions: Provided, Such location or change be ratified by a ma¬ 
jority vote of the electors of the State, County, or District affected, at a 


The Indian Constitutions 


135 


general election conducted in all respects as provided for amendments to this 
Constitution. 

Sec. 34. The General Assembly shall provide by suitable laws for the 
opening and maintaining of roads and highways, bridges, ferries, toll roads, 
and toll bridges: and may, when deemed expedient, create a bureau to be 
known as the “Bureau of Statistics and History,” which shall embrace 
Mining. Manufacturing. Agriculture, and Forestry. It may provide for a 
State Geologist, who shall be appointed by the Governor, by and witn the 
consent of the Senate. 

Sec. 35. Power to change the venue on civil and criminal cases shall 
be vested in the courts, to be exercised in such manner as shall be provided 
by law 7 . 

Sec. 36. No money or property belonging to the public school funds, or 
to this State for the benefit of schools, universities, or colleges, shall ever 
be used for any other than for the respective purposes to which it belongs. 

Sec. 37. The General Assembly shall, from time to time, provide for 
the payment of all legal debts of the State. 

Sec. 38. Any officer in this State who shall, in any manner, make any 
profit upon.the public funds of any kind, belonging to the State, or to any 
County, or other subdivision of the State, shall be punished as provided by 
law, and such punishment shall include disqualification to hold office for 
a period of not less than five years. 

Sec. 39. The General Assembly shall fix the salaries and fees of all 
officers in the State not herein provided for, and no greater salary or amount 
of fees than is fixed by law 7 shall be paid any officer, employe, or other per¬ 
son, or at any rate other than par value; and the number of clerks and em¬ 
ployes of the different departments and institutions of the State, and their 
salaries, shall be fixed by law. 

Sec. 40. Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, no law 
shall be enacted by the General Assembly, exempting from taxation any 
property in this State. 

Sec. 41. The General Assembly shall not alter or annul the Charter of 
any corporation now existing, nor remit any forfeiture of Charter, nor pass 
any law for the benefit of such corporation, except on condition that such 
corporation shall, thereafter, hold its charter subject to the provisions of this 
Constitution. 

Sec. 42. All wild fish, game, animals, birds and fowls in this State 
are declared to be the property of the State; and the General Assembly 
shall provide by law 7 for their protection and preservation, and for the reg¬ 
ulation of the use thereof. 

Sec. 43. No officer of this State, or any county, city, or town, shall 
receive, directly or indirectly, for salary, fees or perquisites more than five 
thousand dollars per annum, and pay and all sums in excess of this amount 
collected by any officer shall be paid to the proper officers as provided by 

law. 

Sec. 44. The General Assembly shall, by law 7 , prescribe the manner 
of contesting elections in cases not specifically provided for in this Con¬ 
stitution. 

Sec. 45. The General Assembly may provide, by law, for assessments on 
real property, for local improvements; in towns and cities, but sucfi as- 


136 


The Indian Constitutions 


sessment shall not be made with the consent of a majority in value of the 
resident property holders owning property within the locality to be affected, 
and such assessments shall be ad valorem and uniform. 

Sec. 46. The General Assembly shall enact laws prohibiting the man¬ 
ufacture or sale of adulterated food, and other articles, and providing pun¬ 
ishment for the violation thereof. 

Sec. 47. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the publication 
of the Constitution, and the revision and publication of all statutes and 
session laws of this State, with annotations thereon, at least once in every 
ten years. Such publication shall be sold at a price not exceeding ten per 
centum above its cost. 

Sec. 48. The General Assembly shall have power to enact such laud 
registration laws as will provide for inexpensive transfers, and the deter¬ 
mination of the rightful owners of real estate, and shall have power to 
create the necessary agencies therefor. 

Sec. 49. The General Assembly shall provide for the location and erec¬ 
tion of the following public buildings. 

Normal School Buildings. 

State Asylum Building for Deaf, Dumb, Blind and Orphans. 

State Reform School Buildings. 

Agricultural and Mechanical College Buildings. 

State Penitentiary Buildings. 

State Asylum Building for the Insane. 

State University Buildings. 

State University Buildings for Colored Persons; and such other public 
buildings, except the State Capitol Building, as may be provided for by law. 


ARTICLE IV 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

Sec. 1. The Executive Department of this State shall consist of a Gov¬ 
ernor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer of State, Auditor of 
State, and Superintendent of Public Instruction; all of whom shall, in per¬ 
son, keep their offices at the seat of government, and hold their offices for 
a term of four years, and until their successors are elected and qualified: 
Provided, Such officers shall not be eligible for re-election for the next suc¬ 
ceeding term. 

Sec. 2. The supreme executive power of this State shall be vested in 
a chief magistrate, who shall be styled “Governor.” 

Sec. 3. The Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer 
of State, Auditor (;f State, and Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall 
be elected by the qualified electors of the State, at the time and places of 
voting for members of the General Assembly, in accordance with the pro¬ 
visions of this Constitution. The persons receiving the highestT number of 
votes for each of the respective offices shall be declared duly elected thereto; 
but if two or more candidates receive the same highest number of votes cast 
for any office, the General Assembly, by a majority vote of all the members 
elected to both Houses, in joint Session, shall choose one of such persons 
to fill said office. 

Sec. 4. Contested elections for Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney 
General,. Treasurer of State, Auditor of State, and Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, shall be determined, except as in this Constitution otherwise 


The Indian Constitutions 


137 


provided, by the members of both Houses of the General Assembly in joint 
session, who shall have exclusive jurisdiction to try and determine the 
same, and all such contests shall be tried and determined at- the first ses¬ 
sion of the General Assembly after the election in which the same shall 
have arisen. 

Sec. 5. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor, except a 
citizen of the United States, and of this State, who shall have attained the 
age of thirty years, and shall have been two years a resident of this State 
or Territory, 

Sec. G. The Governor shall be Commander-in-Cliief of the military and 
naval forces of this State. 

Sec. 7. He may require information in writing from the officers of the 
Executive Departments on any subject relating to the duties of their re¬ 
spective offices, and shall see that the laws are faithfully executed. 

Sec. 8. He shall give to the General Assembly, from time to Time, and, 
at the close of his official term, to the next General Assembly, information 
by Message, concerning the condition and government of the State, ancf rec¬ 
ommend for its consideration such measures as he may deem expedient. 

Sec. 9. A Seal of the State shall be kept by the Secretary of State, used 
by him officially, as directed by law, and called the “Great Seal of the State 
of Sequoyah.” 

Sec. 10. All grants and commissions shall be issued in the name and 
by authority of the State of Sequoyah, signed by the Governor and attested 
by the Secretary of State, and sealed with the Great Seal of the State. 

Sec. 11. No member of Congress, or other person holding office under 
the authority of this State, or of the United States, shall exercise the office 
of Governor, except as herein provided. * 

Sec. 12. In case of the death, conviction or imprisonment, failure to 
qualify, resignation, absence from the State, or other disability of the Gov¬ 
ernor, the powers, duties and emoluments of the office, for the remainder 
of his term, or until the disability be removed, or a Governor elected and 
qualified- shall devolve upon and accrue to, the President of the Senate. 

Sec. 13. If, during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the President 
of the Senate shall be impeached, removed from office, refuse to qualify, 
resign, die, or be absent from the State, the Speaker of the House of Rep¬ 
resentatives shall, in like manner, administer the government 

Sec. 14. Whenever the office of Governor shall have become vacant by 
death, resignation, removal from office, or otherwise, provided such vacancy 
shall not happen within nine months next before the expiration of the term 
of office for’ which the late Governor shall have been elected, the President 
of the Senate, or Speaker of the House of Representatives, as the case may 
be, exercising the powers of Governor for the time being, shall immediately 
cause an election to be held to fill such vacancies, giving by proclamation 
sixty days notice thereof, which election shall be governed by the rules pre¬ 
scribed for general elections for Governor as far as possible. 

Sec. 15. Every bill which shall have passed both Houses of the Gen¬ 
eral Assembly shall be presented to the Governor; if he approve it, he shall 
sign it; but if he shall not approve it, he shall return it, with his objections, 
to the House in which it originated which House shall enter the objections at 
large upon its journal- and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsid- 


138 


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eration, two-thirds of the whole number elected to that House shall agree 
to pass the bill, it shall be sent, with the objections, to the other House, by 
which it shall likewise be considered; and, if approved by two-tliirds of the 
whole number of members elected to that House it shall be a law: hut in 
such case the votes of both Houses shall be determined by “yeas” and “nays,’’ 
and the names of the members voting for, or against, the bill shall be en¬ 
tered on the journals. If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor 
within five days, Sunday excepted, after it shall have been presented to 
him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had approved it, unless 
the General Assembly, by its adjournment, prevents its return, in which case 
it shall become n law, unless he shall file the same with his objections, in the 
office of the Secretary of State within twenty days after such adjournment, 
and shall give notice thereof by public proclamation. 

Sec. 1G. Every order, or resolution, in which the concurrence of both 
Houses of the General Assembly may be necessary, except on questions of 
adjournment, shall be presentee! to the Governor, and, before it shall take 
effect, be approved by him, or being disapproved, shall be repassed by both 
Houses, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a 
bill. 

Sec. 17. The Governor shall have power to disapprove any item or 
items of any bill making appropriations of money, embracing distinct items: 
and the part or parts of the bill approved shall be law, and the item or 
items of appropriations disproved shall be void, unless repassed according to 
the rules and limitations prescribed for the passage of other bills over the 
executive veto. 

Sec. 18. In all criminal and penal cases, excepting in those of treason 
and impeachment, the Governor shall have power to grant reprieves, com¬ 
mutations of sentence, and pardons, after conviction; and to remit fines 
and forfeitures under such rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by 
law': Provided, The General Assembly may create a Board of Pardons for 
all the above purposes, after which the Governor may exercise these powers 
only on recommendation of a majority of such board. In cases of treason 
he shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to 
grant reprieves and pardons. He shall communicate to the General Assembly, 
at every regular session, each case of reprieve, commutations of sentence, or 
pardon, with his reasons therefor, stating the name and crime of the convict, 
the sentence, its date, and the date of the commutations, pardon, or reprieve. 

Sec. 19. The Governor may, by proclamation, or extraordinary occasions, 
convene the General Assembly at the seat of government, or at a different 
place, if that shall have become, since its last adjournment, dangerous from 
an enemy or contagious disease; and he shall specify in his proclamation the 
purpose for which it is convened, and no other business than that set forth 
therein shall be transacted. 

Sec. 20. In case of disagreement between the two Houses of the General 
Assembly, at a regular or special session, with respect to the time of ad¬ 
journment, the Governor may, if the facts be certified to him by the presiding 
officers of the two Houses, adjourn them to a time not beyond the date of the 
next regular session, and, on account of danger from an enemy or disease, 
to such other place of safety, within this State, as he may think proper. 

Sec. 21. The Secretary of State shall keep a full and accurate record 
of all the official acts and proceedings of the Governor, and, when required, 
lay the same with all papers, minutes, and vouchers relating thereto, before 
the General Assembly. 


The Indian Constitutions 


139 


Sec. 22. The Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer of State, 
Auditor of State, and Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall perform 
such duties as may be prescribed by law; they shall not hold at one and 
he same time, any other office or commission, civil or military, in the 
State, or under any other State, or the United States, or any other power, 
and in case of vacancy occurring in any of said offices by death, resignation, 
or otherwise, the Governor shall fill said office for the unexpired term bv 
appointment. 

Sec. 23. YY hen any office, from any cause, may become vacant, and no 
mode is provided by the Constitution and laws for filling such vacancy, the 
Governor shall have power to fill the same by granting a commission, which 
shall expire when the person elected to fill said office at the next general 
election, shall be qualified. 


ARTICLE V. 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 

Sec. 1. The judicial powers of this State shall be vested in the Senate, 
sitting as a Court of Impeachment; in a Supreme Court, in Circuit Courts; 
in County Courts; in Justices of the Peace; in Police Magistrates, and in such 
other courts as may be created by law in and for Cities and Incorporated 
towns. 

SUPREME COURT 

Sec. 2. The Supreme Court shall be composed of three judges, and 
they shall be chosen from among their number a presiding judge who shall 
be styled Chief Justice; two of whom shall constitute a quorum, and the 
concurrence of two shall be necessary to every decision. The General As¬ 
sembly may, if it be deemed necessary, increase the number of the judges 
of the Supreme Court to five, and, on such increase being made, a majority 
of the judges shall be necessary to constitute a quorum, and a concurrence 
of three judges shall be necessary to each decision. 

Sec. 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of Judge the Supreme Court 
unless he shall be at least thirty years of age, shall have practiced law 
at least eight years, be of good moral character, learned in the law, a citizen 
of the State and of the United States, for two years a resident of the State, 
or territory, and for one year an actual resident of the Grand Division from 
which he shall have been selected. 

Sec. 4. The State is hereby divided into three Grand Divisions. One of 
the Judges of the Supreme Court shall be selected from each of said Grand 
Divisions, and they shall be elected by the qualified electors of 
the State. Said Grand Divisions shall be named respectively—Northern 
Grand Division, Southern Grand Division, and Western Grand Division. Said 
judges shall hold their offices during the term of six years from the date of 
their commission, except as herein provided. At the first meeting of the 
Court after the first judicial election under this constitution the judges shall, 
by lot, divide themselves into three classes, one of which said judges shall 
hold office for two, one for four, and one for six years, after which each 
judge of the Supreme court shall be elected for a full term of six years. 
A record shall be made in the Court of this classification. 

The Northern Grand Division shall be composed of the Counties of Qua- 
paw, Cherokee, Lenapah, Skiatook, Cooweeseoowee, Mayes, Delaware. Table- 


140 


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quali, Tumechiche, Coweta, Euchee, Tulladega, Okmulgee, Flint, Sequoyah, 
and Arbeka. 

The Southern Grand Division shall be composed of the counties of 
Seminole, Spokogee, Cussehta, Muskogee, Eufaula, Breckenridge, Tobuksy, 
Hailey, Sans B'ois, Thomas, Wade, Rutherford, Hitchcock, Push-ma-ta-ha, 
McCurtain, and Bixby. 

The Western Grand Division shall be composed of the counties of Cheadle, 
Moseley, Blue, Tom Needles, Byrd, Johnson, Overton, Garvin, McLisli, Wash¬ 
ington, Curtis, Bonaparte, Gilbert, Jefferson, Guy, and Harris. 

Provided, In case the General Assembly hereafter increases the number 
of Judges of the Supreme Court, it shall at such time re-district the State 
into a number of grand divisions equal to the proposed number of Supreme 
Judges, and rename such) Grand Divisions. 

JURISDICTION 

Sec. 5. The Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction in quo war¬ 
ranto and mandamus as to all State officers, and in habeas corpus. The 
Supreme Court shall also have power to issue writs of mandamus, review, 
prohibition, habeas corpus, certiorari, writs of error and supersedeas, quo 
warranto, and other remedial writs necessary and proper to the complete 
exercise of its appellate and revisory jurisdiction, and to hear and determine 
the same; its judges shall be conservators of the peace throughout the State, 
and each of them shall have power to grant any of the aforesaid writs, and 
to make writs of habeas corpus, returnable either before himself, or before 
the Supreme Court, or before any Circuit Court of the State, or any judges 
thereof: Appeals from Circuit Courts to the Supreme Court are hereby 
authorized. 

The Supreme Court shall have general appellate jurisdiction, co-extensive 
with the State, in both civil and criminal causes, and shall have a general 
superintending control over all inferior courts, under such rules and regu¬ 
lations as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 6. The Supreme Court shall have a Clerk who shall be elected 
by the Court, who shall hold his office for the term of six years, unless 
sooner removed by the Court, and whose duties and emoluments shall be as 
provided by law. 

Sec. 7. The Supreme Court shall appoint one Reporter of its decisions, 
who shall hold his office for six years, subject to removal by the Court, whose 
duties and emoluments shall be as provided by law. 

Sec. S. There shall be two terms of the Supreme Court held in each year 
at the seat of government, at such times as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 9. In case all of any of the judges of the Supreme Court shall 
be disqualified from presiding in any cause, or causes, the Court, or the 
disqualified judge, shall certify the fact to the Governor, who shall imme¬ 
diately commission the requisite number of men having the same qualifica¬ 
tions required for a judge of the Supreme Court, to sit in the trial and de¬ 
termination of such causes. 

Sec. 10. From and after the election and qualification of the judges 
of the Supreme Court, each of said judges shall receive a salary of five 
thousand dollars per annum, payable quarterly, until otherwise provided by 
law, and their salaries shall not be increased or diminished during the term 
for which said judges were elected. 


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141 


CIRCUIT COURT 

Sec. 11. The Circuit Courts shall have original jurisdiction in all Law, 
Equity, and Criminal causes, the exclusive jurisdiction of which has not 
been by this Constitution vested in some other Court, and shall exercise a 
superintending control and appellate jurisdiction over County and Municipal 
Courts, and Justices of the Peace, and appeals shall be allowed to the Circuit 
Courts from the final order, or judgment of County Courts, and it shall have 
power to issue, hear and determine all the necessary writs and process, to 
carry into effect their general and specific powers, any of which writs and 
process may be issued upon order of the judges of the appropriate Court 
during the term of the Court, or in vacation, and shall hold two or more 
terms of Court each year in every organized County. 

Sec. 12. The State shall be divided into convenient Circuits, each circuit 
to be made up of contiguous counties, for each of which circuits a judge of 
the Circuit Court shall be elected, who, during his continuance in office, shall 
reside in, and be a conservator of the peace within the circuit for which he 
shall have been elected. 

Sec. 13. No person shall be eligible to the office of judge of the Circuit 
Court unless he shall be at least thirty years of age, shall have practiced 
law at least eight years, be of good moral character, learned in the law, 
a citizen of the State and of the United States, for two years a resident 
of the State or Territory, and for one year an actual resident of the Dis¬ 
trict for which he shall have been elected. 

Sec. 14. The General Assembly shall provide for the times of holding 
Court in each County, which shall not be changed by the General Assembly 
except at its regular session next preceding the general election for the judges 
of said Courts, but additional terms may be provided for in any County. 

Sec. 15. The judges of the Circuit Court shall be elected by the qualified 
electors of the several Circuits, and shall hold their offices for the term of 
six years, and until their successors are qualified. 

Sec. 16. Judges of the Circuit Court shall receive a salary of three 
thousand dollars per annum, payable quarterly, which shall not be increased 
or diminished during the terms for which said judges shall be respectively 
elected or appointed. 

Sec. 17. Clerks of the Circuit Court shall be elected by the qualified 
electors of the several Counties for the term of four years, and shall be ex- 
officio recorders, and they shall receive such salaries as may be provided 
by law. 

Sec. IS. Judges of the Circuit Court may temporarily exchange circuits, 
or hold courts for each other, under such regulations as may be prescribed by 
law. 


COUNTY COURTS 

Sec. 19. There shall be elected in and for each organized County one 
County Judge, and one Clerk of the County Court whose terms of office shall 
be four years and until their respective successors in office shall be qualified, 
and each of whom shall receive such salary as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 20. No person shall be eligible to the office of County Judge unless 
he shall be at least twenty-eight years of age; shall have practiced law at 
least five years, be of good moral character, learned in the law, a citizen of 


142 


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the State and of the United States, for two years a resident of the State, or 
Territory, and for one year an actual resident of the territory composing 
the County in which he shall be elected: Provided, At the first election 
held under this Constitution, persons who have not practiced law at least 
five years may be elected. 

Sec. 21. The Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, and County Courts shall 
be courts of record, and shall respectively have a seal for the authentication 
of their process, acts and judgments. 

Sec. 22. County Courts shall have original jurisdiction in all matters 
of probate, settlement of the estates of deceased persons, appointment of 
administrators, executors, guardians and conservators, and settlement of 
their accounts, and in all matters relating to apprentices, incompetents and 
insane persons: shall have jurisdiction to try and determine all misdemean¬ 
ors, all actions at law where the amount in controversy does not exceed, 
excluding interest and costs, the sum of one thousand dollars, and in forcible 
entry and detainer, and unlawful detainer, and in actions of unlawful de¬ 
tainer, it shall not be necessary in order to maintain said action, that the 
relation of landlord and tenant exist: Provided, That said County Courts 
shall not have jurisdiction of causes in which the title to real estate shall be 
in controversy; and shall have appellate jurisdiction from the final judg¬ 
ment of Justices of the Peace, Municipal and other inferior Courts. 

Sec. 23. In the absence of the Judge of the Circuit Court from the 
County, the judge of the County Court shall have power to issue orders 
for temporary injunctions, and other provisional writs, in the county, return¬ 
able to the Court having jurisdiction, provided that either party may have 
such order reviewed by any superior judge, in vacation, in such manner as 
may be provided by law. 

Sec. 24 . In the absence of the Judge of the Circuit Court from the 
County, the judge of the County Court shall have, power to issue, hear, and 
determine, writs of habeas corpus, under such regulations and restrictions 
as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 25. In case of a vacancy occurring by death, disqualification, resig¬ 
nation, or removal from ottice, of any judge of the Supreme, or Circuit, or 
County Court, such vacancy shall be filled by the Governor of the State, by 
appointment of a person possessing the qualifications herein required for 
judges of the Court to which he is appointed, who shall serve as judge until 
his successor is qualified, as provided by law. 

Sec. 26. Judges shall not charge juries with regard to matters of fact, 

nor comment thereon, but shall declare the law T , and in jury trials, on re¬ 

quest of either party, shall reduce their charge or instructions to writing, 
and deliver the same to the jury prior to the beginning of the argument of 
counsel. 

Sec. 27. No Judge or Justice of the Peace shall preside or participate 

in the trial of any cause in the result of which he may be interested, or 

where either of the parties shall be connected with him by consanguinity 
or affinity, within such degree as may be’ prescribed by law; or in which 
he may have been counsel, or have presided, in any inferior court. 

Sec. 2S. Whenever the office of Judge of the Circuit, or County Court, 
of any County is vacant at the commencement of a term of such. Court, or 
the judge of said Court shall fail to attend, the regular practicing attorneys 
in attendance on said Court may meet at ten o’clock a. m., on the second 
day of the term and elect a judge to preside at such court until the regular 


The Indian Constitutions 


143 


Judge shall appear; and if the judge of said Court shall become sick, or die, 
or be unable to continue to hold such Court after its term shall have com¬ 
menced, or shall, from any cause, be disqualified from presiding at the trial 
of any causes then pending therein, then the regular practicing attorneys 
in attendance on such Court may, in like manner, on notice from the Judge 
or Clerk of said Court, elect a judge to preside at such Court or to try said 
causes, and the attorney so elected shall possess the same qualifications and 
have the same power and authority in said Court as the regular judge would 
have had, if presiding; but this authority shall cease at the close of the 
term at which such election shall be had. The proceedings shall be entered 
at large upon the record of the Court. 

.Sec. 29. The judges of the Supreme, Circuit, or County Courts, shall not, 
during their continuance in office, practice law, or appear as Counsel in any 
Court, State or Federal, within this State, or any Department of the Govern¬ 
ment. 

STATES ATTORNEYS 

Sec. 30. At the first election for members of the General Assembly 
after the adoption of this Constitution, and every four years, thereafter, 
there shall be elected, by the qualified electors of each organized County, a 
States Attorney, for such organized County, whose term of office shall be 
four years, and who shall perform such duties and shall receive such salary 
as may be provided by law. 

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE 

Sec. 31. The qualified electors of each voting precinct in this State 
shall elect such number of Justices of the Peace as may be provided by law, 
whose terms of office shall be for two years, who shall be commissioned by 
the Governor, and their official oath be endorsed on the commission, and a 
copy thereof shall .be filed in the office of the Clerk of the County Court. 
Justices of the Peace shall receive such compensation as may be provided by 
law. 


Sec. 32. Justices of the Peace shall have original jurisdiction in the 
following matters: 1st: Exclusive of the County and Circuit Courts, in all 
matters of contract where the amount in controversy does not exceed the 
sum of one hundred dollars, excluding interest and costs, and concurrent 
jurisdiction in matters of contract where the amount in controversy does 
not exceed the sum of three hundred dollars, exclusive of interest and costs; 
2nd: Concurrent jurisdiction in suits for the recovery of personal property 
where the value of the property does not exceed the sum of one hundred 
dollars, and in all matters of damage to personal property where the amount 
in controversy does not exceed the sum of one hundred dollars; 3rd: Con¬ 
current jurisdiction in actions of forcible entry and detainer, and of un¬ 
lawful detainer, and in actions of unlawful detainer it shall not be neces¬ 
sary in order to maintain said action that the relation of landlord and tenant 
exist: Provided, Justices of the Peace shall not have jurisdiction where a 
lien on land, or title thereto, is involved; 4th: Such jurisdiction of misde¬ 
meanors as may be prescribed by law; 5th: To sit as examining Courts 
and commit, discharge, or recognize, offenders to the Court having jurisdic¬ 
tion, for further trial, and to bind persons to keep the peace, or for good 
behavior. For the foregoing purposes they shall have power to issue all 
necessary process. They shall be conservators of the peace within their 
respective Counties. 


144 


The Indian Constitutions 


Sec. 33: A Justice of tlm Peace shall be a qualified elector, a resident of 
the voting precinct for which he is elected, shall possess a fair business edu¬ 
cation, and be a man of good moral character. 

Sec. 34. Appeal may be taken from the final judgments of Justices of 
the Peace to the County Courts under such regulations as may hereafter be 
provided by law. The qualified electors of each voting precinct in each 
county shall elect a constable for the term of two years, who shall be fur¬ 
nished by the presiding judge of the County Court with a certificate of 
election, on which his official oath shall be endorsed. His compensation and 
duties shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 35. All judicial officers shall be commissioned by the Governor. 
All law relating to Courts shall be general and uniform operation. The 
organization, jurisdiction, powers, proceedings and practices of all Courts 
of the same class or grade, so far as regulated by law, and the force and 
effect of the process, judgments and decrees of such Courts, severally, shall 
be uniform. 

Sec. 36. The General Assembly may, for cause entered on the journals, 
upon due notice and opportunity for defense, remove from office any judge, 
upon concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House. 
All other officers in this article mentioned shall be removed from office by 
the Governor on prosecution and final conviction for felony, or misdemeanor 
in office; or, the Governor may, upon the joint address of the Judge of the 
Circuit Court, the Judge of the County Court, and the three County Com¬ 
missioners, remove from office all such officers mentioned in this article, for 
whose removal provisions has not been otherwise herein named, for 
incompetency, corruption, gross immorality, criminal conduct, malfeasance, 
misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office. 

Sec. 37. All courts of record, inferior to the Supreme Court, shall, on 
or before the first day of June of each year, report in writing to the judges 
of the Supreme Court, such defects and omissions in the laws as their ex¬ 
perience may suggest; and the judges of the Supreme Court shall, on or 
before the first day of January of each year, report to the Governor, in 
writing, such defects and omissions in the Constitution and laws as they 
may find exist, together with appropriate forms of amendments and bills 
to cure such defects and omissions. The judges of the several Circuit Courts 
shall report to the next General Assembly the number of days they have held 
Court in the several Counties composing their respective circuits, during the 
preceding two years. 

Sec. 38. All officers provided for in this Article shall hold their office 
until their successors shall be qualified, and they shall, respectively, reside 
in the division, circuit, county, or precinct, for which they may be elected 
or appointed. All officers, where not otherwise provided for in this article, 
shall perform such duties and receive such compensation as may be provided 
by law. Vacancies in such elective offices shall be filled by election; but 
where the unexjired term did not exceed one year the vacancy shall be filled 
by appointment as follows: Of Judges, by the Governor; of Clerks of 
Courts, by the Court to which the office appertains, or by the judge or 
judges thereof; and all such other offices, by the Board of County Commis¬ 
sioners, in the County where the vacancy occurs. 

Sec. 39. All process shall run in the name of the State of Sequoyah, 
and all prosecutions shall be carried on “In the name and by authority of 
the State of Sequoyah,” and conclude “Against the peace and dignity of" the 
State.” 


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145 


MUNICIPAL COURTS 


Sec. 40. Municipal, or Corporation Courts, of towns and cities, may 
be invested with jurisdiction concurrent with justices of the peace. 


ARTICLE VI 

SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS 

Sec. I.- Every male person over the age of twenty-one years, possessing 
the following qualifications, shall be entitled to vote at all elections, except 
as otherwise herein provided : 

FIRST—He shall be a citizen of the United States, or, not being a 
citizen of the United States, he shall have declared his intention, 
according to law, to become such, not less than one year before he 
offers to vote. 

SECOND — He shall have resided in the State one year; in the County 
six months; and in the voting ward, or precinct, thirty days imme¬ 
diately preceding the election at which he offers to vote. 

Sec. 2. The followinng classes of persons shall not be allowed to vote 
at any election in this State : 

FIRST—Persons under the age of twenty-one years. 

SECOND — Idiots, lunatics, or paupers supported by the State or County. 

THIRD—All persons convicted of felony, or of the wilful violation of 
any electtion laws, subject to such exceptions as the General As¬ 
sembly may provide. 

FOURTH—Soldiers, marines and seamen employed in the service of the 
Army, or Navy of the United States. 

Sec. 3. Elections shall be free, equal, and by secret ballot. No power 
shall ever interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage. 

Sec. 4. The General Assembly shall, at the first session thereof, enact 
laws to extend the right of suffrage to women of rightful age, and otherwise 
qualified according to the provisions of this article. No such enactment 
shall be of effect until submitted to the vote of the qualified electors at a 
general election, nor unless, the same be approved by a majority of those 
voting thereon. 

Sec. 5. David N. Robb, of Atoka, and David M. ITodge, of Broken 
Arrow, members of the Republican party, and Carl Pursel, of Muskogee and 
Andrew OB'. Cunningham, of Tahlequah, members of the Democratic party, 
all of whom are legal electors of the proposed State of Sequoyah, (now 
Indian Territory), are hereby appointed a Supreme Election Board of Indian 
Territory, and its successor the proposed State of Sequoyah,, with power of 
succession to the membership of said Supreme Election Board in case of 
death, disability, or failure to serve, on the part of any such members of 
said board, succession to be in method following: 

In case such vacancy shall be from the Republican membership thereof, 
the surviving Republican member shall immediately designate another Re¬ 
publican elector to fill such vacancy. In case the vacancy shall be from the 


146 


The Indian Constitutions 


Democratic membership of such board the surviving Democratic member 
shall at once appoint a Democratic elector to fill such vacancy. 

In case any such vacancy, or vacancies shall not be filled as hereinabove 
provided, within five days from the occurrence of such vacancy, then the 
last presiding officer of this Constitutional Convention shall immediately fill 
such vacancy, or vacancies, by the appointment of an elector of the political 
party upon the side whereon said vacancy exists. Provided, however, that 
after the election for ratification or rejection of this Constitution, instead of 
the filling of vacancies by appointment made by the last presiding officer of 
this Constitutional Convention, such filling of vacancies shall be by appoint¬ 
ment of the Chairman of the State Committee of the party to which such 
vacancy belongs. 

Said Supreme Election Board shall have supreme power in the calling 
and conduct of the election at which this Constitution is submitted to the 
people for ratification, and for the election of all officers whose election may 
be provided for at the time of the vote on the ratification of this Constitu¬ 
tion, and for the election of all state, county, township, municipal, and 
other public officials, at any and all elections subsequent to said election for 
the ratification of this Constitution, until such time thereafter as the General 
Assembly of this State shall otherwise by law provide. Said Supreme Elec¬ 
tion Board shall designate all times, places, and the manner of holding 
elections, including the election for the ratification of this Constitution. It 
shall appoint all necessary election officers; none but electors qualified, under 
the provisions of this Constitution, shall be permitted to vote, or to hold 
any office of trust or profit in this State. 

The Supreme Election Board, or a majority thereof, shall immediately 
upon the closing of the polls, at all elections, cause all legal votes to be 
counted, the result tabulated and transmitted to said Supreme Election 
Board; the result of each and every such election shall be at once certi¬ 
fied by said Supreme Election Board, or a majority thereof, and the result 
shall be publicly announced: Said Supreme Election Board, under such 
rules as it may provide, shall hear and determine all contests. 

Certificates of election issued and certified to by the Supreme Election 
Board, or a majority thereof, shall be final proof of' the result of such elec¬ 
tion, not only as to the ratification of this Constitution, but as to the election 
of all public officers who shall receive such certificates of election. 

The Supreme Election Board shall subdivide all counties into voting 
precincts, which shall remain until otherwise provided by law. 

Sec. G. All general elections for state and county officers, for members 
of the House of Representatives, and the Senate, of the State of Sequoyah, 
and Representatives to the Congress of the United States, shall be held on 
the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November of each year, 
except the first election, which shall be held as herein provided. Such elec¬ 
tions may be held as herein provided for general elections, or, as may be 
hereafter provided by law. All State and county officers elected at a general 
election shall enter upon their respective duties on the first Monday in Jan¬ 
uary next following the date of their election, or as soon thereafter as may be 
possible 

All officers whose election is not provided for in this Constitution shall 
be elected or appointed as may be provided by law. 

No member of Congress from this State, nor' any person holding or ex¬ 
ercising any office or appointment of trust or profit under the United States, 
shall, at the same time, hold or exercise any office in this State to which a 
salary, fees or perquisites shall be attached. The General Assemby mav 
by law declare what offices are incompatible. 


The Indian Constitutions 


147 


Sec. 7. Senators and Representatives, and all Judicial, State, County, 
Municipal, and other officers, shall, before entering upon the duties of their 
respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath, or affirmation:— 

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, obey, and defend 
the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of this State, 
and that I will discharge the duties of my office with fidelity; that I have 
not paid or contributed, or promised to pay or contribute, either directly or 
indirectly, any money or valuable thing, to procure my nomination or elec¬ 
tion (or appointment), except for necessary and proper expenses authorized 
by law; that I have not knowingly, violated any election laws of this State, 
nor procured it to be done by others in my behalf; that I will not knowingly 
receive, directly or indirectly, any money or other valuable thing, for the 
performance or non-preformance of any act or duty pertaining to my office, 
other than the compensation allowed by law.” 

Sec. 8. The foregoing oath shall be administered by some person 
authorized to administer oaths, and, in the case of state officers, and judges 
of the supreme court, shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State, 
and in the case of other judicial, county, municipal and other officers, in the 
office of the Clerk of the County in which the same is taken; any person 
refusing to take said oath (or affirmation) shall forfeit his office; and any 
person who shall be convicted of having sworn (or affirmed) falsely, or of 
having violated said oath (or affirmation) shall be guilty of perjury and 
be forever disqualified from holding any office of trust or profit in this 
State. The oath, to members of the General Assembly, shall be administered 
by one of the judges of the supreme court, or by any other person authorized 
by law to administer oaths, in the ball of the House of which the member 
shall belong. 

The General Assembly shall by law provide the terms and amount of 
bond which must be given by all public officials who are entrusted with the 
custody of public funds, and it may require bond of any other public officers. 
Until said bond is executed, filed and approved, as required by law, such 
officer shall not qualify. All official bonds shall be made payable to the 
State for the use and benefit of the State, District, County, or Municipality, 
as the case may be. 

Sec. 10. In trials of contested elections, and in proceedings for the 
investigation of elections, no person shall be permitted to withhold his 
testimony on the ground that it may incriminate him, or subject him to 
public infamy; but such testimony shall not be used against him in judi¬ 
cial proceedings, except for perjury in giving such testimony. 

Sec. 11. No person shall be qualified as an election officer who shall 
hold at the time of the election any office, appointment or employment in 
or under the government of the United States, or of this State, or of any 
municipality or county, or under any municipal board, in any city, save 
only the justice of the peace, alderman, notaries public, and persons in 
the military service; nor shall any election officer be eligible to any civil 
office to be'filled at any election at which he shall serve, save only to such 
subordinate municipal or local offices, below the grade of city or county 
officers, as shall be designated by general law. 

Sec. 12. If the officers of any election shall unlawfully refuse or fail 
to receive, count, or return the vote or ballot of any qualified elector, such 
vote or ballot shall nevertheless be counted upon the trial of any contest 
arising out of said election. 



148 


The Indian Constitutions 


Sec. 13. All voting by persons acting in representative capacity shall 
be by “yeas” and “nays.” 

Sec 14. Every person, who shall have given, or offered a bribe, threat, 
or reward, to secure his election, shall be disqualified from holding office 
during the term for which he may have been elected. 

Sec. 15. Every person who shall give or accept a challenge to fight a 
duel, or who shall knowingly carry to another person such challenge, or 

who shall agree to go out of this state to fight a duel, shall be ineligible 

to vote, or to hold any office of trust or profit in this State. 

Sec. 10. No person shall be elected or appointed to any office, civil 
or military, in this State, who is not a citizen of the United States, and 

who shall not have resided in this State two years next preceding his elec¬ 

tion or appointment. 

Sec. 17. The General Assembly shall have power to enact laws pro¬ 
viding for the registration of electors. 

ARTICLE VII 
EDUCATION 

Sec. 1. General intelligence and virtue are essential to the preservation 
of government by the people, and it is a fundamental duty of the State 
to provide for its citizens the best possible preparation for intelligent and 
virtuous citizenship; therefore, the General Assembly shall establish and 
maintain a system of free public education for all persons in the State be¬ 
tween the ages of six and twenty-one years, and also provide for the estab¬ 
lishment and maintenance of institutions for the education of the deaf, 
dumb, and blind, of this State. 

Sec. 2. The school fund of this State shall consist of the proceeds 
of all lands that may hereafter be granted by the United States; all moneys, 
stocks, bonds, or other property, that may be acquired, by donation or other¬ 
wise, for purposes of public education; the net proceeds of all sales of lands 
and other property and effects that may accrue to the State by escheat, 
the sale of estrays, fines,, penalties and forfeitures; the net proceeds of a 
graduated inheritance tax, which is hereby authorized, and for which the 
General Assembly shall provide by law, to an amount not exceeding five 
per centum upon the estates of deceased persons of ten thousand dollars 
and upwards in value; the proceeds of such occupation tax as may he 
provided by law; the annual poll tax of not less than one dollar, as provided 
in this Constitution; and other taxes herein provided for. 

►Sec. 3. No person shall be permitted to vote at any election in this 
State who shall not have paid his poll tax to the proper officer, at least 
thirty days before the holding of said election. 

Sec. 4. In distributing the school fund no distinction shall be made 
on account of race or color. Separate schools shall be provided for children 
of African descent. 

Sec. 5. No religious, or other sect, or sects, shall ever be permitted to 
control any part of the school funds of this State, nor shall any funds be 
appropriated for the support of any sectarian school. 

Sec. 6. The General Assembly shall provide for the teaching of the 


The Indian Constitutions 


149 


elements of agriculture, horticulture, stock breeding and feeding, and domes¬ 
tic science, in the public schools of this State. 

Sec. 7. Supervision of the Public Schools shall he vested in a Superin¬ 
tendent of Public Instruction, and in such other officers as the General 
Assembly may provide by law. The Superintendent of Public Instruction 
shall receive such salary and perform such duties as shall he prescribed 
by law. 

Sec. S. The General Assembly shall, as soon as practicable, provide 
by law for the establishment and maintenance of a university of the first 
class, to he located by a vote of the electors of the State of Sequoyah, as 
provided in this Constitution and to be styled “The University of the State 
of Sequoyah.” The General Assembly shall also provide for the establish¬ 
ment and maintenance of such High Schools, Normal, Agricultural and 
Mechanical, and other Colleges, as it may deem expedient. 

Sec. 9. The State University, and all other Institutions for higher 
education, shall be under the supervision and control of a board of seven 
members, of whom the Governor shall be one, and the remaining six of 
whom shall be nominated by the Governor, and, by and with the consent 
of the Senate, appointed. They shall hold office for six years, two retiring 
every second year, except that in the first board, two shall be appointed 
for two, and two for four years only. Not more than four members of 
such hoard shall belong to one political party. They shall be designated 
the “Regents of Education.” They shall prescribe the methods of appointing 
the faculties of the Institutions under their care; arrange, in connection 
with the several faculties, the various courses of study; secure, as far as 
possible, helpful correlation and and co-operation between the Institutions 
of higher learning in this State, and take such steps as may be practicable 
for establishing and maintaining the highest and most uniform standard 
possible, for literary and other degrees, which may be granted under the 
sanction of authority of the State. 


ARTICLE VIII 


MINES AND MINING 

Sec. 1. There shall be established and maintained the office of Inspector 
of Mines, the duties and salary of which shall be prescribed by law. When 
said office shall be established, the Governor shall, with the consent of 
the Senate, appoint thereto a person proven, in the manner provided by 
law, to be competent and practical, and who has had not less than four 
years actual and continuous service either as a mining engineer, mine super¬ 
intendent, mine foreman, or expert miner, in a mine in actual operation: 
His term of office shall be four years and until his successor is appointed 
and qualified. He shall take the oath and give the bond required by law. 
A suitable room in the Capitol shall be provided for him by the State. 

Sec. 2. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the proper 
ventilation of mines, the construction of shafts for escape, and such other 
appliances as may be necessary to protect the health and secure the safety 
of the workmen therein, and shall make such regulations, from time to 
time, as may be necessary for the proper drainage of mines, the prevention 
of needless or wanton waste of mineral oil and gas from wells, and the 
protection of the streams and rivers of this State from being polluted. 

Neglect or failure of a mine owner, or mine lessee, to comply 


Sec. 3. 




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witli the laws and State regulations in regard to mines, or the orders of 
the Inspector of Mines made under and in pursuance thereof, shall render 
such mine owner, or mine lessee, responsible for all damages to the life, 
health, or person, of employes, or other persons, resulting from such neglect 
or failure. 

Sec. 4. All mines from which gold, silver, or other valuable metals, soda, 
saline, coal, mineral oil, mineral water, asphalt, gas, or other valuable de¬ 
posits, are, or may be, produced, shall, in addition to the surface improve¬ 
ments, and in lieu of taxes on the land, be taxed on the gross product 
thereof, as may be prescribed by law; Provided, The product of all mines, 
and all gas, oil, and mineral water wells, shall be taxed in proportion to 
the value thereof. 

Sec. 5. Until the General Assembly of this State shall make provision 
by law for the safe operation of mines within this State the act of Con¬ 
gress approved March 3, 1891, entitled, “An act for the protection of the 
lives of miners in the Territories,” 26 Stat. L., 1104, Chap. 564, shall be in 
force as the law of this State. 

Sec. 6. The General Assembly may provide that the science of mining, 
metallurgy and the drilling, construction and management of oil, gas. and 
artesian wells, be taught in one or more of the institutions of learning 
under the patronage and control of this State. 

Sec. 7. The Inspector of Mines shall appoint competent inspectors of 
oil and gas, who shall hold office under his direction and during liis pleasure. 
Their powers, duties, and compensation, shall be such as the General As¬ 
sembly may by law prescribe. 

Sec. S. All persons and corporations shall upon payment of just com¬ 
pensation, have the right of way across public, private, and corporate lands, 
for the construction of ditches, canals and flumes, for the purpose of con¬ 
veying water for domestic use; for the irrigation of agricultural lands; for 
mining and manufacturing purposes, and for drainage: The use of the 
waters of the State for domestic, irrigation, mining and manufacturing 
purposes, shall be deemed a public use. The procedure in exercising the 
right of eminent domain under this section shall be the same as that pro¬ 
vided by law for railroads. 

Sec. 9. Boys under the age of fourteen, years, and women, or girls, of 
any age, shall not be employed nor permitted to be in, or about, coal, iron 
or other mines for the purpose of being employed therein: Provided, how¬ 
ever, that this provisions shall not prevent the employment of boys and 
females who are over the age of fourteen years from clerical work at such 
mines or collieries. 


ARTICLE IX 
CORPORATIONS 

Sec. 1. As used in this article the term “corporation” or “company” 
shall include all trusts, associations and joint stock companies having any 
powers or privileges not possessed by individuals or un im ted partnerships, 
and exclude all municipal corporations and public institutions owned or 
controlled by the State; the term “charter” shall be construed to mean 
the charter of an incorporation by, or under which, any such corporation 
Is formed; the term “transportation company” shall include any company. 


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151 


trustee or other person owning, leasing or operating for hire, a railroad, 
street railway, canal, steamboat or steamship line, oil, or gas pipe-line, 
and also any freight car company, car association, or car trust, sleeping 
car company, express company, or companies, trustee or person, in any 
way engaged in business as a common carrier over a route acquired in whole 
or in part under the right of eminent domain; the term “rate” shall be con¬ 
strued to mean rate of charge for any service rendered or to be rendered; 
the term “rate,” “charge,” and “regulation,” shall include joint rates, joint 
charges, and joint regulations, respectively; the term “transmission com¬ 
pany,” shall, include any company owning, leasing, or operating for hire, 
any telegraph or telephone line, or other means of communication; the 
term “freight” shall be construed to mean any property transported, or 
received for transportation, by any transportation company; the term “pub¬ 
lic service corporation” shall include all transportation and transmission 
companies, all gas, electric light, heat and power companies, and all per¬ 
sons authorized to exercise the right of eminent domain, or to use or occupy 
any street, alley or public highway, whether along, over, or under the same, 
in a manner not permitted to the general public; the term “person,” as 
used in this article, shall include individuals, partnerships and corporations, 
in the singular as well as in the plural number; the term “bond” shall mean 
all certificates, or written evidences of indebtedness issued by any corpora¬ 
tion and secured by mortgage or trust deed; the term “frank” shall be 
construed to mean any writing or token issued by, or under authority of, 
a transportation or transmission company entitling the holder to any service 
from such company free of charge, or at a reduced rate. The provisions 
of this article shall always be so restricted in their application as not to 
conflict with any provision of the Constitution of the United States, and 
as if the necessary limitations upon their interpretation had been herein ex¬ 
pressed in each case. 

Sec. 2. The creation of corporations, and the extension and amend¬ 
ments of charters (whether heretofore of hereafter granted), shall be pro¬ 
vided for by general laws, and all corporations being creatures of the law 
shall be amendable thereto and no charter shall be granted, amended or 
extended by special act, nor shall authority in such matters be conferred 
upon any tribunal or officer, except to ascertain whether the applicants 
have, by complying with the requirements of law, entitled themselves to 
the charter, amendment or extension applied for, and to issue, or refuse, 
the same accordingly; Provision shall be made, ,by general laws, for the 
voluntary surrender of its charter by any corporation, and for the forfeiture 
thereof for non-user or mis-user. The General Assembly shall not, by 
special act, regulate the affairs of any corporation, nor, by such act, give it 
any rights, powers or privileges. 

Sec. 3. A permanent commission, to consist of three members, is hereby 
created, which shall be known as the “State Corporation Commission.” 
The Commissioners shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirma¬ 
tion by the Senate; and their regular terms of office shall be six years, 
except those first appointed under this Constitution, of whom one shall be 
appointed to hold office for two years, one for four, and one for six years. 
Whenever a vacancy in the Commission shall occur, the Governor shall 
forthwith appoint a qualified person to fill the same for the unexpired 
term, subject to confirmation by the Senate, as aforesaid. Commissioners 
appointed for regular terms shall, at the beginning of the terms for which 
appointed, and those appointed to fill vacancies shall, immediately upon 
their appointment, enter upon the duties of their office; but no person so 
appointed, either for a regular term, or to fill a vacancy, shall enter upon, 


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or continue in, office after tlie Senate shall have refused to confirm hig 
appointment, or adjourned sine die without confirming the same, nor shall 
he he eligible for reappointment to fill the vacancy caused by such refusal 
or failure to confirm. No person while employed by, or holding any office 
in relation to any transportation or transmission company, or while in any 
wise financially interested therein, or while engaged in practicing law, shall 
hold office as a member of said commission, or perform any of the duties 
thereof. At least one of the Comissioners shall have the qualifications pre¬ 
scribed for judges of the Supreme Court; and any commissioner may be 
impeached or removed in the manner provided for the impeachment or 
removal of a judge of the Supreme Court. The commission shall annually 
elect one of its members chairman of the same, and shall have one clerk, one 
bailiff, and such other clerks, officers, assistants and subordinates as may 
be provided by law, all of whom shall be appointed, and be subject to removal 
by the commission. It shall prescribe its own rules of order and procedure, 
except so far as the same are specified in this Constitution. The General 
Assembly may establish within the department, and subject to the super¬ 
vision and control of the commission, subordinate divisions, or bureaus of 
insurance, banking, or other special branches of the business of that de¬ 
partment. All sessions of the commission shall be public, and a permanent 
record shall be kept of all its judgments, rules, orders, findings and de¬ 
cisions, and of all reports made to, or by it. Two of the commissioners 
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, whether there 
be a vacancy in the commission or not. The commission shall keep its of¬ 
fice open for business on every day except Sundays and legal holidays. 
Transportation companies shall, at all times, transport, free of charge, 
within this State, the members of said commission and its officer, or any of 
them, when engaged on their official duties. The General Assembly shall 
provide suitable quarters for the commission, and funds for its lawful ex¬ 
penses, including pay for witnesses summoned, and the cost of executing- 
processes issued by the commission of its own motion; and shall fix the sal¬ 
aries of the members, clerks, assistants, and subordinates of the commission, 
and provide for the payment thereof. 

Sec. 4. (a) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution and to such 

requirements, rules and regulations as may be prescribed by law, the State 
Corporation Commission shall be the department of government through 
which shall be issued all charters or certificates of incorporation and 
amendments or extensions thereof, for domestic corporations, and all 
licenses to foreign corporations, to do business in this State; and through 
which shall be carried out all the provisions of this Constitution, and of 
the laws made in pursuance thereof, for the creation, visitation, supervision, 
regulation and control of corporations, authorized by, or doing business 
in this State. The commission shall prescribe the form of all reports which 
may be required of such corporations by this Constitution or by law; it 
shall collect, recieve, and preserve such reports, and annually tabulate and 
publish them in statistical form, except so far as they are inconsistent 
with this Constitution, or may be hereafter abolished or changed by law. 

(b) The commission shall have the power, and be charged with the 
duty, of supersiving, regulating and controlling all transportation and trans¬ 
mission companies doing business in this State, in all matters relating to 
the performance of their public duties and their charges therefor, and of 
correcting abuses therein by. such companies; and to that end the com¬ 
mission shall, from time to time, prescribe, and enforce against such com¬ 
panies, m the manner hereinafter authorized, such rates, charges, classifi¬ 
cation of traffic, and rules and regulations, and shall require them’to estab- 


The Indian Constitutions 


153 


lish and maintain all such public service, facilities and conveniences, as 
may be Treasonable and just, which said rates, charges, classifications, rules, 
regulations and requirements, the commission may, from time to time, 
alter or amend. All rates, charges, classifications, rules, and regulations 
and requirements, the commission may from time to time, alter or 
amend. All rates, charges, classifications, rules and regulations adopted 
or acted upon, by any such company, inconsistent with those prescribed 
by the commission within the scope of its authorities shall be unlaw¬ 
ful and void. The commission shall also have the right at all times 
to inspect the books and papers of all transportation and transmission 
companies doing business in this State, and to require from such companies, 
from time to time, special reports and statements under oath, concerning 
their business; it shall keep itself fully informed of the physical condition 
of all the railroads of the State, as to the manner in which they are 
operated, with reference to the security and accommodation of the public, 
and the protection of employes; and shall, from time to time, make and 
enforce such requirements, rules and regulations as may be necessary to 
prevent unjust or unreasonable discrimination by any transportation or 
transmission company in favor of, or against any person, locality, com¬ 
munity, connecting line, or kind of traffic, in the matter of car service, 
train or boat schedule, efficiency of transportation or otherwise in con¬ 
nection with public duties of such company. Before the commission shall 
prescribe or fix any rate, charge or classification of traffic, and before it 
shall make any order, rule, regulation or requirement directed against any 
one or more companies by name, the company or companies to be affected 
by such rate, charge, classification, order, rule, regulation or requirement, 
shall first be given by the commission, at least ten days notice of the time 
and place, when and where the contemplated action in the premises will 
be considered and disposed of, and shall be afforded a reasonable oppor¬ 
tunity to introduce evidence and be heard thereon, to the end that justice 
may be done, and shall have process to enforce the attendance of wit¬ 
nesses ; and before the commission shall make or prescribe any general 
order, rule, regulation or requirement, not directed against any specific 
company, or companies by name, the contemplated general order, rule, 
regulation or requirement shall first be published in substance, not 
less than once a week for four consecutive weeks in one or more of the 
newspapers of general circulation, published at the seat of government, 
together with notice of the time and place, when and where the commis¬ 
sion will hear any objections which may be urged by any person interested, 
against the proposed order, rule, regulation or requirement, and every 
such general order, rule, regulation or requirement made by the commis¬ 
sion shall be published at length for the time and in the manner above 
specified, before it shall go into effect, and shall also, as long as it re¬ 
mains in force, be published in each subsequent annual report of the com¬ 
mission. The authority of the commission (subject to review on appeal as 
hereinafter provided) to prescribe rates, chfirgep and classifications of 
traffic, for transportation and transmission companies, shall.be paramount: 
but its authority to prescribe any other rules, regulations or requirements 
for corporations or other persons shall be subject to the superior authority of 
the General Assembly to legislate thereon by general laws; Provided, how¬ 
ever, that nothing in this section shall impair the right which has here¬ 
tofore been, or may hereafter be conferred by law upon the authorities of 
any city, town, or county, to prescribe rules, regulations or rates of charge 
to be observed by any public service corporation in connection with any 
services performed by it under a municipal or county franchise granted 
by such city, town or county, so far as such services may be wholly with- 


154 


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in the limits of the city, town or county granting the franchise. Upon the 
request of the parties interested, it shall be the duty of the commission, as 
far as possible, to effect, by mediation, the adjustment of claims, and the 
settlement of controversies between transportation or transmission com¬ 
panies and their patrons. 

(c) In all matters pertaining to the public visitation, regulation or 
control of corporations, and within the jurisdiction of the commission, it 
shall have the powers and authority of a court of record, to administer 
oaths, to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of papers, 
to punish for contempt any person guilty of disrespectful or disorderly 
conduct in the presence of the commission while in session, and to enforce 
compliance with any of its lawful orders or requirements by adjudging, 
and enforcing by its own appropriate process, against the delinquent or 
offending company (after it shall have been first duly cited, proceeded 
against by due process of law before the commission, sitting as a court, 
and afforded' opportunity to introduce evidence and to be heard, as well 
against the validity, justness or reasonableness of the order or require¬ 
ment alleged to have been violated as against the liability of the company 
for the alleged violation), such fines or other penalties as may be prescribed 
or authorized by this Constitution, or by law. The commission may be 
vested with such additional powers, and charged with such other duties 
(not inconsistent with this Constitution) as may be prescribed by law, 
in connection with the visitation, regulation or control of corporations, or 
with the prescribing and enforcing of rates and charges to be observed in 
the conduct of any business where the State has the right to prescribe 
the rates and changes in connection therewith, or with the assessment of 
the property of corporations, or the appraisement of their franchises, for 
taxation, or with the investigation of the subject of taxation generally. 
Any corporation failing or refusing to obey any valid order or requirement 
of the commission, within such reasonable time, not less than ten days, 
as shall be fixed in the order, may be fined by the commission (proceeding 
by due process of law as aforesaid) such sum, not exceeding five hundred 
dollars, as the commission may deem proper, or such sum, in excess of 
five hundred dollars as may be prescribed, or authorized, by law; and each 
day’s continuance of such failure or refusal after due service upon such 
corporation of the order or requirement of the commission, shall constitute 
a separate offense: Provided, That should the operation of such order or 
requirement be suspended pending an appeal therefrom, the period of such 
suspension shall not be computed against the company in the matter of 
its liability to fines or penalties. 

(d) From any action of the commission prescribing rates, charges or 
classifications of traflic, or affecting the train schedule or any transporta¬ 
tion company, or requiring additional facilities, conveniences or public 
service of any transporation or transmission company, or refusing to ap¬ 
prove a suspending bond, or requiring additional security thereon, or an 
increase thereof, as provided for in sub-section (e) of this section, an ap¬ 
peal (subject to such reasonable limitations as to time, regulations as to 
procedure, and provisions as to cost, as may be prescribed by law) may 
b e taken by the corporation, the rates, charges or classifications of traffic, 
schedule, facilities, conveniences or service of which are affected, or by any 
person deeming himself aggrieved by such action, or (if allowed by'law) 
by the State. Until otherwise provided by law, such appeal shall be taken 
in the manner in which appeals may be taken to the Supreme Court from 
the Circuit courts, except that such an appeal shall be of right, and the 
Supreme Court may provide by rule for proceedings in the matter of ap- 


The Indian Constitutions 


155 


peals in any particular in which the existing rules of law are inadequate. 
If such appeal be taken by the corporation the rates, charges or classifica¬ 
tions of traffic, schedules, facilities, conveniences or service of which are 
affected, the State shall be made the appellee ; but, in the other cases men¬ 
tioned, the corporation so affected shall be made the appellee. The Gen¬ 
eral Assembly may also, by general laws, provide for appeals from any 
other action of the commission, by the State or by any person interested, 
irrespective of the amount involved. All appeals from the commission shall 
be to the Supreme Court only; and in all appeals to which the State is a 
party, shall be represented by the Attorney General or his legally appointed 
representative. No court of this State (except the Supreme Court, by 
way of appeals as herein authorized), shall have jurisdiction to review, 
reverse, correct or annul any action of the commission, within the scope of 
its authority, or to suspend or delay the execution or operation thereof, 
or to enjoin, restrain or interfere with the commission in the performance 
of its official duties; provided, however, that the writs of mandamus and 
prohibition shall lie from the Supreme Court to the commission in all cases 
where such writs, respectively, would lie to any inferior tribunal or office. 

(e) Upon the granting of an appeal, a writ of supersedeas may be 
awarded by the Supreme Court suspending the operation of the action 
appealed from, until the final disposition of the appeal; hut, prior to the 
final reversal thereof by the Supreme Court, no action of the commission 
prescribing or affecting the rates, charges or classifications of traffic of 
any transportation or transmission company shall be delayed, or suspended, 
in itsl operation, by reason of any appeal by such corporation, or by reason 
of any proceedings resulting from such appeal until a suspending bond 
shall first have been executed and filed with, and approved by the com¬ 
mission (or approved on review by the Supreme Court), payable to the 
State, and sufficient in amount and security to insure the prompt refund¬ 
ing, by the appealing corporation to the parties entitled thereto, of all 
charges which such company may collect or receive, pending the appeal, 
in excess of those fixed, or authorized by the final decision of the court 
on appeal. The commission, upon the execution of such bond, shall forth¬ 
with require the appealing company, under penalty of the immediate en¬ 
forcement (pending the appeal and notwithstanding any supersedeas), of 
the order or requirement appealed from, to keep such accounts, and to 
make to the commission, from time to time, such reports, verified by oath, 
as may, in the judgment of the commission, suffice to show the amounts being 
charged or received by the company, pending the appeals, in excess of the 
charge allowed by the action of the commission appealed from, together 
with the names and addresses of the persons to whom such overcharges 
will be refundable in case the charges made by the company pending the 
appeal, be not sustained on such appeal; and the commission shall also„ 
from time to time, require such company, under like penalty, to give ad¬ 
ditional security on, or to increase the said suspending bond, whenever, in 
the opinion of the commission, the same may be necessary to insure the 
prompt refunding of the overcharges aforesaid. Upon the final decision) 
of such appeal, all amounts which the appealing company may have col¬ 
lected, pending the appeal, in excess of that authorized by such final de¬ 
cision,’ shall be promptly refunded by the company to the parties entitled 
thereto, in such manner, and by such methods of distribution, as may be 
prescribed by the commission, or by law. All such appeals affecting rates, 
charges or classifications of traffic, shall hav e precedence, upon the docket 
of the Supreme Court, and shall be heard and disposed of promptly by 
the court, irrespective of its place of session, next after the habeas corpus, 
and State’s cases already on the docket of the court. 


156 


The Indian Constitutions 


(f) In no case of appeal from the commission shall any new or ad¬ 
ditional evidence be introduced in the Supreme Court; but the chairman 
of the commission, under the seal of the commission, shall certify to the 
Supreme Court all the facts upon which the action appealed from was 
based and which may be essential to the proper decision of the questions 
involved in appeal, together with such of the evidence introduced before, 
or considered by the commission as may be selected, specified and required 
to be certified, by any party in interest, as well as such other evidence so in¬ 
troduced or considered, as the commission may deem proper to certify. 
The commission shall, whenever an appeal isi taken therefrom, file with 
the record of the case, and as a part thereof, a written statement of the 
reasons, upon which the action appealed from was based, and such state¬ 
ments shall be read and considered by the Supreme Court, upon disposing 
of the appeal. The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction, on such appeal, 
to consider and determine the reasonableness and justness of the action 
of the commission appealed from, as well as any other matter arising 
under such appeal; provided, however, that the action of the commission 
appealed from shall be regarded as prima facie just, reasonable and cor¬ 
rect ; but the court may, when it deems necessary, in the interest of 
justice, remand to the commission any case pending on appeal, and re¬ 
quire the same to be further investigated by the commission, and reported 
upon to the court (together with a certificate of such additional evidence 
as may be tendered before the commission by any party in interest), be¬ 
fore the appeal is finally decided. 

(g) Whenever the Court, upon appeal, shall reverse an order of the 
commission affecting the rates, charges or the classification of traffic of 
any transportation or transmission company, it shall at the same time, 
substitute therefor, such order as, in its opinion, the commission should 
have made at the time of entering the order appealed from; otherwise the 
reversal order shall not be valid. Such substituted order shall have the 
same force and effect (and none other) as if it had been entered by the 
commission at the time the original order 1 appealed from was entered. The 
right of the commission to prescribe and enforce rates, charges, classifications, 
rules, and regulations, affeecting any or all actions of the commission there¬ 
tofore entered by it and appealed from, but based upon circumstances or 
conditions different from those existing at the time the order appealed 
from was made, shall not be suspended or impaired by reason of the pend¬ 
ency of such appeal; but no order of the commission, prescribing or alter¬ 
ing such rates, charges, classifications, rules or regulations, shall be retro¬ 
active. 

(li) The right of any person to institute and prosecute in the ordinary 
courts of justice, any action, suit or motion against any transportation or 
transmission company, for any claim or cause of action against such 
company, shall not be extinguished or impaired by reason of any fine or 
other penalty which the commission may impose, or be authorized to im¬ 
pose, upon such company because of its breach of any public duty, or be¬ 
cause of its failure to comply with any order or requirement of the com¬ 
mission ; but, in no such proceedings by any person against such corporation, 
nor in any collateral proceedings, shall the reasonableness, justness or 
validity of any rate, charge, classification of traffic, rule, regulation or require¬ 
ment, therefor prescribed by the commission within the scope of its au¬ 
thority, and then in force, be questioned; Provided, however, that no case 
based upon or involving any other of the commission, shall be heard, or 
disposed of, against the objection of either party, so long as such order is 


The Indian Constitutions 


157 


suspended in its operation by an order of the Supreme Court as authorized 
by this Constitution or by any law passed in pursuance thereof. 

i) The commission shall make annual reports to the Go ernor of 
its proceedings, in which reports it shall, from time to time, recommend 
such new or additional legislation in reference to its powers or duties, 
or to the creation, supervision, regulation or control of corporations, or 
to the subject of taxation, as it may deem wise or expedient, or as may be 
required by law. 

Sec. 5. Provisions shall be made by general laws for the payment of 
a fee to the State by every domestic corporation, upon the granting, amend¬ 
ment, or extension of its charter, and by every foreign corporation, upon 
obtaining a license to do business in this State, as specified in this section; 
and also for the payment, by ■ every domestic corporation, and foreign 
corporation doing business in this State, of an annual registration fee of 
not less than five dollars nor more than twenty-five dollars, which shall be 
irrespective of any specific license, or other tax imposed by law upon such 
company for the privilege of carrying on its business in this State, or upon 
its franchise or property; and for the making, by every such corporation 
(at the time of paying such annual registration fee), of such report to the 
State Corporation Commission, of the status, business, or condition of such 
corporation,, as the General Assembly may prescribe. No foreign corporation 
shall have authority to do business in this State, until it shall have first 
obtained from the commission a license to do business in this State, upon 
such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by law. The failure of 
any corporation for two successive years to pay its annual registration fee, 
or to make its said annual reports, shall, when such failure shall have con¬ 
tinued for ninety days after the expiration of such two years, operate as a 
revocation and annulment of the charter of such corporation if it be a 
domestic company, or, of its license to do business in this State, if it be a 
foreign company; and the General Assembly shall provide additional and 
suitable penalties for the failure of any corporation to comply promptly 
with the requirements of this section, or of any laws passed in pursuance 
thereof. The commission shall compel all corporations to comply promptly 
with such requireents, by enforcing, in the manner hereinbefore authorized, 
such fines and penalties against the delinquent company as may be pro¬ 
vided for, or authorized by this article; but the General Assembly may, by 
general laws, relieve from the payment of the said registration fee any 
purely charitable institution or institutions. 

Sec. 6. The exercise of the right of eminent domain shall never be 
abridged, nor so construed as to prevent the State from taking the property 
and franchise of corporations and subjecting them to public use, the same 
as the property of individuals; and the exercise of the police power of 
the State shall never be abridged, nor so construed as to permit corpora¬ 
tions to conduct their business in such manner as to infringe the equal 
rights of individuals or the general well being of the State. 

Sec. 7. No transportation or transmission company shall charge or 
receive any greater compensation, in the aggregate, for transporting the 
same class of messages, over a shorter than over a longer distance, along 
the same line and in the same direction—the shorter being included in the 
longer distance; but this section shall not be construed as authorizing any 
such company to receive as great compensation for a shorter as for a 
longer distance. The State Corporation Commission may, from time to time, 
authorize any such company to disregard the foregoing provisions of this 
section, by charging such rates as the commission may prescribe as just 


158 


The Indian Constitutions 


and equitable between such company and the public, to or from any 
junctional or competitive points or localities or where the competition of 
points located without this State may make necessary the prescribing of 
special rates for the protection of the commerce of this State; but this 
provisions shall not apply to mileage tickets, or to any special excursion, or 
commutation rates, or to special rates for services rendered to the govern¬ 
ment of this State, or of the United States, or in the interest of some 
public object, when such tickets or rates shall have been prescribed or 
authorized by the commission. 

Sec. S. No transportation of transmission company doing business 
in this State shall grant to any member of the General Assembly, or to 
any State,, county, district or municipal officer, except to members and of¬ 
ficers of the State Corporation Commission for their personal use while in 
office, any frank, free pass, free transportation, or any rebate or reduction 
in the rates charged by such company to the general public for like services. 
For violation of the provisions of this section, the offending company shall be 
liable to such penalties as may be prescribed by law; and any member of 
the General Assembly, or any such officer, who shall, while in office, accept 
any gift, privilege or benefit as is prohibited by this section, shall thereby 
forfeit his office, and be subject to such further penalties as may be pre¬ 
scribed by law; but this section shall not prevent a street railway company 
from transporting, free of charge, any member of the police force or fire 
department while in the discharge of his official duties, nor prohibit the 
acceptance by any such policeman or fireman of such free transportation. 

Sec. 9. The doctrine of fellow servant, so far as it affects the liability 
of the master for injuries to his servant resulting from the acts or omis¬ 
sions of any other servant or servants of the common master, is, to the 
extent hereinafter stated, aboli**iied as to every employee of a railroad com¬ 
pany, engaged in the physical construction, repair or maintenance of its 
roadway, track or any of the structures connected therewith, or in any work 
in or upon a car or engine standing upon a track, or in the physical opera¬ 
tion of a train, car, engine, or switch, or in any service requiring his pres¬ 
ence upon a train, car or engine ; and every such employe shall have the 
same right to recover for every injury suffered by him from the acts or 
omissions of any other employe or employes of the common master, that 
a servant would have (at the time when this Constitution goes into effect) 
if such acts or omissions were those of the master himself in the per¬ 
formance of a nonassignable duty; provided, that the injury, so suffered by 
such railroad employe, resulting from the negligence of an officer, or agent, 
of the company of a higher grade of service than himself, or from that of 
a person employed by the company, having the right, or charged with the 
duty, to control or direct the general services of the immediate work of the 
party injured, or the general services of the immediate work of the co¬ 
employe through, or by, whose act or omission lie is injured; or that it 
result from the negligence of a coemploye engaged in another department of 
labor, or engaged upon, or in charge of, any car upon which, or upon the 
train of which it is a part', the injured employe is not at the time of re¬ 
ceiving the injury, or who is in charge of any switch, signal point, or 
locomotive engine, or is charged with dispatching trains or transmitting 
telegraphic or telephonic orders therefor; and whether such negligence be 
in the performance of an assignable or nonassignabL duty. 

The physical construction, repair or maintenance of the roadway, track 
or any of the structures connected therewith, and the physical construction, 
repair, maintenance, cleaning or operation of trains, cars or engines, shall 
be regarded as different departments of labor within the meaning of this 


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section. Knowledge by any such railroad employe injured, of the defective 
or unsafe character or condition of any machinery, ways, appliances or 
structures, shall be no defense to any action for injury caused thereby. 
When death, whether instantaneous or not, results to such an employe 
from any injury for which he could have recovered, under the above 
provisions, had death not occurred, then his legal or personal representa¬ 
tives, surviving consort, and relatives (and any trustee, curator, committee 
or guardian of such consort or relative) shall, respectively have the same 
rights and remedies with respect thereto as if his death had been caused 
by the negligence of a coemploye while in the performance, as vice-principal 
of a nonassignable duty of the master. Every contract or agreement, ex¬ 
pressed or implied, made by an employe, to waive the benefit of this sec¬ 
tion, shall be null and void; and the provisions of this Section shall apply 
to all corporations, domestic and foreign, doing business in this State. 
This section shall not be construed to deprive any employe, or his legal or 
personal representative, surviving consort or relatives (and any trustee, 
curator, committee or guardian of such consort or relatives), of any rights 
or remedies that he or they may have by the law of the land at the time 
this constitution goes into effect. Nothing contained in this section shall 
restrict the power of the General Assembly to further enlarge for the above- 
named class of employees the rights and remedies hereinbefore provided for,, 
or to extend such rights and remedies to, or otherwise enlarge the present 
rights and remedies of, any other class of employes of railroads, or of 
employes of any person, firm or corporation. 

Sec. 10. No foreign corporation shall be authorized to carry on in 
this State, the business, or to exercise any of the powers or functions, of 
a public service corporation, or be permitted to do anything which domestic 
corporations are prohibited from doing, or be relieved from compliance 
with any of the requirements made of similar domestic corporations by the 
Constitution and laws of this State, where the same can be made applicable 
to such foreign corporations without discriminating against it. But this 
section shall not affect any public service corporation whose line or route 
extends across the boundary of this State, nor prevent any foreign corpora¬ 
tion from continuing in such lawful business as it may be actually engaged 
in within the State, when this Constitution goes into effect; but any such 
public service corporation, so engaged, shall not, without first becoming 
incorporated under the laws of this State, be authorized to acquire, lease, 
use, or operate, within this State, any public or municipal franchise or fran¬ 
chises in addition to such as it may own, lease, use or operate when this Con¬ 
stitution goes into effect, or to exercise the right of eminent domain. The 
property of foreign corporations within the State shall always be subject 
to attachment, the same as that of non-resident individuals; and nothing 
in this section shall restrict the power of the State to enact proper law's 
governing or concerning foreign corporations whenever, and in whatever 
respect it may deem wise or expedient. 

Sec. 11. The right of the State, through such instrumentalities as it 
may select, to prescribe and define the public duties of all common carriers 
and public service corporations, to regulate and control them in the per¬ 
formance of their public duties, and to fix and limit their charges therefor, 
shall never be surrendered nor abridged. 

Sec. 12. The General Assembly shall enact laws preventing all trusts, 
combinations and monopolies, inimical to the public welfare, and shall have 
power to control by general laws all corporations organized and doing 
business under the laws of this State, and all foreign corporations doing 


160 


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business in this State, engaged in mining, manufacturing or producing for 
sale any article of commerce of common consumption or use by the peo¬ 
ple of this State, so that said corporation shall be compelled to fix uniform, 
maximum and minimum prices for said articles of commerce and common 
consumption and use, offered for sale in this State, and it shall be made un¬ 
lawful for any corporation or corporations doing business in this State to dis- 
criinate against or demand from the people of this State a greater or 
higher price for any article of commerce of common consumption, or use, 
than is charged by said corporation or corporations to the inhabitants of 
any other state. 

Sec. 13. The exclusive right to build or operate railroads parallel to 
its own, or to any other line of railroad, shall not be granted to any com¬ 
pany, but every railroad company shall have the right, subject to such 
reasonable regulations as may be prescribed by law, to parallel, intersect, 
connect with, or cross with its roadway, any other railroad or railroads; 
but no railroad company shall build or operate any line of railroad not 
specified in its charter, or in some amendment thereof. All railroad com¬ 
panies, whose lines of railroad connect, shall receive and transport each 
other passengers, freight and loaded or empty cars, without delay or dis¬ 
crimination. 

Sec. 14. The General Assembly shall enact general laws regulating 
and controlling all issues of stocks and bonds by corporations. Whenever 
stocks or bonds are to be issued by a corporation, it shall, before issuing 
the same, file with the State Corporation Commission a statement (verified by 
the oath of the president or secretary of the corporation, and in such form as 
may be prescribed or directed by the commission) setting forth fully and ac¬ 
curately the basis,, or financial plan upon which such stocks or bonds are to 
be issued; and where such basis or plan includes services or property 
(other than money) received or to be received by the company, such state¬ 
ment shall accurately specify and describe, in the manner prescribed, or 
directed by the commission, the services and property, together with the 
valuation at which the same are received, or are to be received; and such 
corporation shall comply with any other requirements or restrictions which 
may be imposed by law. The General Assembly shall provide adequate 
penalties for the violation of this section, or of any laws passed in pur¬ 
suance thereof; and it shall be the duty of the commission to adjudge, and 
enforce (in the manner hereinafter provided), against any corporations 
refusing or failing to comply with the provisions of this section, or of any 
laws passed in pursuance thereof, such fines and penalties as are authorized 
by this Constitution, or may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 15. No property, nor right of way, shall be appropriated to the 
use of any corporation until full compensation therefor shall be first made 
to the owner in money, or first secured to him by a deposit of money sub¬ 
ject to his immediate order, which compensation, iri’espective of any bene¬ 
fit from any improvement proposed by such corporation, shall be ascer¬ 
tained in a court of competent jurisdiction, as shall be prescribed by law, 
and the provisions of this Constitution. 

ARTICLE X 

BANKS AND BANKING 

Sec. 1. The General Assembly shall have power to provide for the in¬ 
corporation of eleemosynary and educational institutions, banks or banking 


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161 


companies and trust companies, the same to be under the supervision of 
the State Corporation Commission. 

Sec. 2. No bank, or trust company, shall be established otherwise 
than under a general banking law, nor otherwise than on a specific basis. 

Sec. 3. Every bank or banking company, or trust company, shall be 
required to cease all banking operations within twenty years from the 
time of its organization, (unless the General Assembly shall extend the 
time),, and promptly thereafter close its business; but shall have corporate 
capacity to sue., and shall be liable to suit, until its affairs and liabilities 
are fully closed. 

Sec. 4. The legal rate of interest shall be six per centum per annum, 
but ten per centum may be permitted by contract, and all contracts for a 
greater rate of interest than ten per centum per annum, either directly or 
indirectly, paid or to be paid, shall constitute usury, and shall forfeit an 
amount of the debt equal to double the amount of the entire interest so 
charged; this applies to all persons, natural and artificial. 

ARTICLE XI 

MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS 

Sec. 1. The General Assembly shall provide, by general laws, for the 
organization of cities (which may be classified) and incorporated towns, 
and restrict their powers of taxation, assessment, borrowing money and 
contracting debts, so as to prevent the abuse of such power. Provided, 
that cities and incorporated tow r ns of 2,500 inhabitants, or more, shall have 
power to issue bonds for general improvements under such rules and regu¬ 
lations as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 2. No municipal corporation shall be authorized to pass any laws 
contrary to the general laws of the State; nor to levy any tax on real 
or personal property, except as hereinafter provided. 

Sec. 3. Except as herein otherwise provided, the State shall never 
assume or pay the debt or liability of any county, town, city, or other cor¬ 
poration whatever, or any part thereof, unless such debt or liability shall 
have been created to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, or to provide 
for the public welfare and defense; nor shall indebtedness of any corpora¬ 
tion to the State ever be released or in any manner discharged, save by 
payment of the same into the public treasury. 

ARTICLE XII 

BOUNDARIES AND DIVISIONS 

Sec. 1. The State of Sequoyah is bounded as follows: On the North 
by the Territory of Oklahoma and the State of Kansas; on the East by 
the States of Missouri and Arkansas; on the South by the State of Texas, 
on the West by the Territory of Oklahoma; the area of the State of 
Sequoyah includes all lands within the boundaries of the Indian Territory, 
including the Quapaw Agency. 

Sec. 2. This State is hereby divided into counties, named and described 
as follows: (All descriptions are referred to the Indian Meridian Guide 
and Base Line established by United States Geological Survey, 1895-1896): 

ARBEKA COUNTY.—Townships 14, and 13, North, Ranges 6, 7, 8, 9, 


162 


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and 10 East.—All of Township 12,, 11, and 10 North Ranges G, 7, 8, 0 and 
10, East, lying north of the meandering center line of the North Fork 
River. 

BIXBY COUNTY.—Townships 1 and 2 North, and 1, 2, and 3 South, 
Ranges 12, 13, and 14 East.—Townships 1, 2, and 3 South, Range 11 East; 
Townships 2 and 3 South, Ranges 9 and 10 East. 

BLUE COUNTY.—Townships 4, 5, and the north half of G, South, 
Ranges 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 East, 

BONAPARTE COUNTY.—Township G North, Ranges 7, 6, 5, 4, and 
3 West.—All of Township G North, Range 2 West, lying west of the center 
line of the Canadian River and the east line of Range 2 WTst.—Town¬ 
ships 4 and 5 North, Ranges 2, 3, 4, 5, G, and 7 West. 

BEOKINRIDGE COUNTY.—Bounded by a line described as follows: 
Beginning at the northwest corner of Township 12 North, Range 18 East; 
thence east along the north line of Township 12 North to the center line 
of the Arkansas River; thence southeasterly along the meandering center 
line of the Arkansas River to a point where the center of the Canadian 
River (extended) intersects; thence in a westerly direction along the me¬ 
andering center line of the Canadian River to the west line of Range 18 
East; thence north along the west line of Range 18 East to the point or 
place of beginning. 

BYRD COUNTY.—All of Townships 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 North, Ranges 
4, 5i, and G, East, lying south of the meandering center line of Canadian 
River. 

CHEADLE COUNTY.—Townships 4 and 3 North, Ranges 7, 8, 9, 10 
and 11, East.—All of Townships 7, G, and 5 North, Ranges 7, 8, 9, 10 and 
11 East, lying south of the meandering center line of the Canadian River. 

CHEROKEE COUNTY.—Township 29 North, Range s 18, 19 and 20 
East.—• All of Township 29 North, Range 21 East, lying west of the mean¬ 
dering center line of the Neosho River.—Townships 28, 27, 2G, 25, and the 
North, Ranges 15, 1G, and 17 East; Township 21 North, Range 12, 13 and 

COOWEESCOOWEE COUNTY.—Townships 24, 23, 22, 21, and 20 
North, Ranges 15, 16, and 17 East; Township 21 North, Ranges 21, 13 and 
14 East; Township 20 North, Ranges 14 and the East half of 13 East. 
From which deduct the Southeast Quarter of Township 24 North and the 
Northeast Quarter of Township 23 North, Range 17 East. 

COWETA COUNTY.—Bounded by a line described as follows: Be¬ 
ginning at a point where the North line of Township 19 North intersects 
the center line of Range 13 East; thence East along the North line of 
Township 19 North, to the center line of the Verdigris River; thence south¬ 
erly along the meandering center line of the Verdigris River to the west 
line of Range 17 East,, in Township 17 North; thence south along the said 
west line to the north line of Township .16 North; thence east along said 
north line to the center of the Verdigris River; thence southerly along the 
meandering center line of the Verdigris River to the East line of Range 17 
East; thence south along said east line to the center line of the Arkansas Riv- 
thence westerly along the meandernig center line of the Arkansas River 
to the north line of Township 17 North ; thence -east along said north line 
to the center line of Range 13 East; thence North along said center line 
to the point or place of beginning. 


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163 


CURTIS COUNTY.—Bounded by a line described as follows: Begin¬ 
ning at a point where the North and West State lines of this State inter¬ 
sect in Township 10 North; thence easterly and southerly following the 
meandering center line of the Canadian River to the north line of this 
State to the north line of Township 6 North; thence west along said north 
line to the west' line of this State; thence north along said west State line 
to the point or place of beginning. 

OUSSEHTA COUNTY.—Townships 12 and 11 North, Ranges 11, 12. 
13 and 14, East.—Townships 10 and 9 North, Ranges 12, 13, and 14' East.— 
All of Township S North, Ranges 12, 13, 14 East lying north of the mean¬ 
dering center line of the Canadian River. 

DELAWARE COUNTY.—Townships 24, 23, 22, 21, and 20 North, 
Ranges 22, 23, 24, and 25 East; Townships 21 and 20 North Range 2G East. 

EUCHEE COUNTY.—Townships 20, 19, IS, 17, 16, and 15 North, Ranges 
10, 11, and 12 East, and the West half of Townships 20, 19, and IS North, 
Range 13 East 

EUFAULA COUNTY.—Townships 12, 11, 10; 9 and 8 North, Ranges 
15, 16, and 17 East. 

FLINT COUNTY.—Townships 14, 15, 16, 17, 13, and 19, North, Ranges 
24 and 25 East.—All Townships 14, 15, 16, 17, 13, and 19, North, Ranges 
26 and 27 East, lying west of the Arkansas State Line. 

GARVIN COUNTY.—All of Townships 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 North, Ranges 
1 West and 1, 2, and 3, East lying south on the north boundary line of 
this State which is the meandering center line of the Canadian River. 

GILBERT COUNTY.—Townships 1, 2, and 3 North, and Townships 1 
and 2 South, Ranges 5, 6, 7, and 8 West.—The west boundary of this 
county being the westline of this State. 

GUY COUNTY.-—Townships 2 and 3 North, Ranges 2, 3, and 4 West, 
Townships 1 North and 1 and 2 South, Ranges 1, 2, 3, and 4 West. 

HAILEY COUNTY.—Townships 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, North, Ranges 16 
and 17 East.—Townships 2, 3, and 4 North, Range, 15 East.—Townships 3, 
4, and 6, North, Range 18 East.—Townships 4 and 5 North, Range 19 
East. 

HARRIS COUNTY.—Townships 3 and 4 South, Ranges 1, 2, 3, and 
4 West.—Township 5 South, Ranges 2, 3, and 4 West.—All of Townships 
6, 7, and 8 South, Ranges 2, 3, and 4, West, lying north of the Texas State 
line. 

HITCKOCK COUNTY.—Townships 5 and 6, South, Ranges 15, 16, 17, 
18, 19, 20, and 21 East.—All of Townships 7 and 8 South, Ranges 15, 16, 
17, 13 19, 20 and 21 East, lying north of the Texas State line. 

JEFFERSON COUNTY.—All of Townships 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and S, South, 
Ranges 5, 6, 7, and 8 West, lying east of the west boundary line of this 
State and north of the Texas State line. 

JOHNSTON COUNTY.—Bounded by a line described as follows: Be¬ 
ginning at the northwest corner of Township 1 South, Range 4 East; 
thence east along the north line of Township 1, South, to the east line of 
Range 7 East; thence south along said east line to the north line of Town¬ 
ship 2 South ; thence east along said north line to the east line of Range 8 


164 


The Indian Constitutions 


East; thence south along said east line to the center line of Township 5 
South; thence on the west and south by a line described as follows: Be¬ 
ginning at the above mentioned beginning point, thence south along the 
west line of Range 4 East to the south line of Township 4 South; thence 
east along said south line to the center line of the Washita River; thence 
southerly along the meandering center line of the Washita River to the 
center line of Township 5 South; thence east along said center line of 
Township 5 South to the east line of Range S East. 

LENAPHA COUNTY,—Townships 29 and 28 North, Ranges 12„ 13, 14 
15, 16 and 17 East; Townships 27, 2K5, and 25 North, Ranges 15, 16 and 17 
East. 

M'cCURTAIN COUNTY.—Townships 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 South Ranges 
22, 23, 24, 25 and 20, East.—Township 8 South, Ranges 24, 25, and 26 
East.—Township 9 South, Range 26 East.—All of Township 8 South, Ranges 
22 and 23 East, lying north of the Texas State line.—All of Township 9 
South, Ranges 23, 24 and 25 East, lying north of the Texas State line.— 
All of Township 10 South, Ranges 24, 25, and 26 East, lying north of the 
Texas State line.—All of Township 10 South, Range 27 East, lying west 
of the Arkansas State line and north of the Texas State line. All of Town¬ 
ships 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, South, Rangel 27 E'ast, lying west of the 
Arkansas State line. 

McUISH COUNTY.—Townships 1 North and 1, 2, 3, and 4 South,, Ranges 
1, 2, and 3 East. To which add the north half of Township 5 South, Range 
2 East. 

MAYES COUNTY.—The south half of Township 24 North, Ranges IS, 
19, 20, and 21 East.—Townships 23, 22, 21, and 20 North, Ranges 18, 19, 20 
and 21, East. To which add the Southeast Quarter of Township 24 North 
and the Northeast Quarter of Township 23 North Range 17 East. 

MOSELEY COUNTY.—Townships 1 and 2 North, Ranges 7, 8, 9„ 10, 
and 11 East.—Township 1 South, Ranges 8, 9, and 10 East. 

MUSKOGEE COUNTY.—Bounded by a line described as follows: Be¬ 
ginning at the northwest corner of Township 15 North, Range 16 East; 
thence east along the north line of Township 15 North to the center line 
of the Arkansas River; thence southerly and easterly along the meander¬ 
ing center line of the Arkansas River, to the center " line of the Verdigris 
River (extended) ; thence northerly along the meandering center line of the 
Verdigris River to the north line of Township 15, North; thence east along 
said north line to the east line of Range 20 East; thence south along said east 
line to the south line of Township 13 North; thence west along the said 
south line to the west line of Range 16 East; thence north along said west 
line to the point or place of beginning. 

OKMULGEE COUNTl r .—Bounded by a line described as follows: Be¬ 
ginning at the northwest corner of Township 17 North, Range 13 East; 
thence east along the north line of said Township 17 North to the center 
line of the Arkansas River; thence southerly along the meandering center 
line of the Arkansas River to the north line of Township 15 North; thence 
west along thei said north line of Township 15 North to the east line of 

Range 15 East; thence south along the said east line to the south line of 

Township 13 North; thence west along said south line to the west line of 

Range 11 East; thence north along the said west line to the north line of 

Township 14 North; thence east along the said north line to the west line 


The Indian Constitutions 


165 


of Range 14 East; thence north along said west line to the point or place 
of beginning. 

OVERTON COUNTY. — Bounded by a line described as follows: Be¬ 
ginning at the northwest corner, Township 5 South, Range 4 East; thence 
east along the north line of Township 5 South, to the center of the Wash¬ 
ita River; thence southerly following the meandering center line of said 
River to the center line of Township 5 South; thence east along center 
line to the east line of Range 8 East; thence south along said east line to 
the south line of Township 6 South; thence west along said south line to 
the east line of Range 7 East; thence south along said east line to the 
south line of Township 7 South; thence west along said south line to the 
Texas State line; thence westerly along the Texas State line to the west 
line of Range 4 East; thence north along said west line to a point or place 
of beginning. 

PUSH-MA-TAHA COUNTY.- — Township, 2 North, Ranges 18, 19, and 
20 East. Townships 1 North, 1, 2, 3, and 4, South, Ranges 15, 10, 17, 18, 
19, and 20 East. Townships 1, 2, 3, and 4, South, Range 21 East. 

QUAPAW COUNTY.—All of Township 29 North, Range 21 East, lying 
east of the meandering center line of the Neosho River. Townships 29 
North, Ranges 22, 23, 24, and 25 East. Townships 28, 27, 26, 25, North, 
Ranges 22, 23, 24, and 25 East. 

RUTHERFORD COUNTY. — Bounded by a line described as follows: 
Beginning at a point where the center line of Range 24 East, intersects the 
center line of the Arkansas River; thence easterly following the meander¬ 
ing center line of the Arkansas River to the Arkansas State line; thence 
southerly along the Arkansas State line to the south line of Township 6 
North; thence west along said south line to the center line of Range 24 
East; thence north along said center line of Range 24 East to the point or 
place of beginning. 

SANS BOIS COUNTY.—Bounded by a line described as follows: Be¬ 
ginning at a point where the west line of Range 18 East, intersects the 
center line of the Canadian River; thence easterly along the meahdering 
center line of the Canadian River to the East line of Range 20 East; thence 
south along said east line to the south line of Township G North; thence 
west along said south line to the west line of Range 18 East; thence north 
along said west line to the point or place of beginning. 

SEMINOLE COUNTY. — All of Township 11, North, Ranges 5, G, 7, 
and the west half of 8, East, lying south of the meandering center line of 
the North Fork of the Canadian River. Townships 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, North, 
Ranges 5, G. 7, and the west half of 8 East; and all of Township 5, North, 
Ranges 5, 6, 7, and the west half 8 East, lying north of the meandering 
center line of the Canadian River. 

SEQUOYAH COUNTY—Bounded by a line described as follows; Be¬ 
ginning at the northwest corner of Township 13 North, Range 21 East; 
thence east along the north line of Township 13 North to the Arkansas 
State line; thence south along the Arkansas State line to the center line 
of the Arkansas River; thence westerly following the meandering center 
line of the Arkansas River to the North line o^ Township 12 North; thence 
east along said north line to the west line of Range 21 East; thence north 
along said west line to the point or place of beginning. 

SKIATOOIv COUNTY.—Townships 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, and 22 North, 
Ranges 12, 13, and 14 East. 


166 


The Indian Constitutions 


SPOKOGEE COUNTY.—Bounded by a line described as follows: Be¬ 
ginning at a point where the center line of Range 8 East, intersects the 
center line of the North Fork of the Canadian River; thence southeasterly 
following the meandering center line of the North Fork of the Canadian 
River to the west line of Range 11 East; thence North along said west 
line to the north line of Township 10 North; thence east along said north 
line to the east line of Range 11 East; thence south along said east line 
to the north line of Township 7 North; thence east along said north line 
to the center line of the Canadian River; thence southwesterly along the 
meandering center line of the Canadian River to center line of Range 8 
East; thence north along said center line to the point or place of beginning. 

TAJIEEQUAIT COUNTY.—Townships 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, and 14 North, 
Ranges 21, 22, and 23, East, 

THOMAS COUNTY.—Bounded by a line described as follows: Begin¬ 
ning at a point, where the west line of Range 21 East, intersects the center 
line of the Canadian River; thence northerly along the meandering center 
line of the Canadian River to a point where said center line (extended) 
intersects the center line of the Arkansas River; thence southeasterly along 
the meandering center line of the Arkansas River to the center line of 
Range 24 East: thence south along said center line of Range 24 East to 
the south line of Township 6 North ; thence west along said south line to 
the west line of Range 21 East; thence north along said west line to the 
point or place of beginning. 

TOBUKSY COUNTY. — Bounded by a line described as follows: Be¬ 
ginning at a point where the west line of Range 12 East, intersects the cen¬ 
ter line of the Canadian River; thence northerly and easterly, following 
the meandering center line of said River to the east line of Range 14, East; 
thence south along said east line to the north line of Township 7 North ; 
thence east along said north line to 1 the east line of Range 15 East; thence 
south along said east line to the south line of "Township 5 North ; thence 
west along 1 said south line to the east line of Range 14 East; thence soutn 
along said east line to the south line of Township 3 North ; thence west 
along said south line to the west line of Range 12 East; thence north along 
said west lin e to the point or place of beginning. 

TOM NEEDLES COUNTY.—The south half of Township _6 South, Ranges 
9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 East. — All of Townships 8 and 9 South, Ranges 6 
and 7 East, lying north of the Texas State line.—All of Townships 7, 8. 9, 
and 10 South, Ranges 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 East, lying north of the 
Texas State line. 

TULLADEGA COUNTY. — Townships 19, 18, 17. 16, and 15 North, Ranges 
6, 7, 8, and 9, East, being bounded on the north and west by the state line 
of this State. 

TUMECHICHE COUNTY.—Bounded by a line described as follows: Be¬ 
ginning at a point in the north line of Township 19 North, where the center 
line of the Verdigris River intersects said line; thence East along said north 
line of said Township 19 North to the east line of Range 20 East; thence 
south along the said east line of Range 20 East to the south line of Town¬ 
ship 16 North; thence west along said south line of Township 16 North 
to a point where said line intersects the center line of the Verdigris River : 
thence down the meandering center line of the Verdigris River to a point 
where said line (extended) intersects the center line of the Arkansas River; 
thence up the meandering center line of the Arkansas River to a point where 
the east line of Range 17 East intersects the said Arkansas River Center 


The Indian Constitutions 


167 


line; thence north along the said east line of range 17 East to a point where 
said east line intersects the center line of the Verdigris River; thence 
northerly along the meandering center line of the Verdigris River, to the 
north line of Township 16 North; thence west along said north line to the 
west line of Range 17 East; thence north along said west line to the center 
line of the Verdigris River; thence northerly along the. meandering center 
line of the Verdigris River to the point or place of beginning. 

WADE COUNTY.—Township 3, North, Range 19 East.—Township 3, 4, 
and 5, North,- Range 20 East—Townships, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, North, Ranges 
21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26, East. All of Townships 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, North, 
Range 27 East, lying west of the Arkansas State line. 

WASHINGTON COUNTY.—Townships 5 and 6 South, Ranges 1 West 
and 1, 2, and 3 East.—All of Townships 7, 8, 9, and 10 South, Ranges 1 
West and 1, 2 and 3 East, lying north of the Texas State line. From which 
deduct the north half of Township 5 South, Range 2 East. 

Sec. 3. It is hereby directed that within sixty days after the acceptance 
of this Constitution and the admission of this State by Congress, the Supreme 
Election Board provided by this Constitution shall cause to be held a general 
election in this State, and in the counties, district and municipalities thereof, 
for the election of a full complement of officers as provided by this Com 
stitution, excepting only its first representatives in Congress, and that prev¬ 
ious to the calling of such election said Supreme Election Board shall 
ascertain, as nearly as may be, the valuation of all taxable property of each 
and every county in this State, and that where said Supreme Election Board 
finds the aggregate value of all taxable property in any one county to be 
of a sum total less than one million dollars that such county shall be con¬ 
sidered as unorganized, and for the time being attached for administrative 
purposes, to the adjoining county having the lowest valuation of taxable 
property, and shall so remain as a district of said county to which it is 
attached until such time as the General Assembly shall otherwise provide: 
Provided, That at any time, at any regular election to be held in said 
unorganized county, upon the written petition of one hundred electors of 
such unorganized county, addressed and delivered to said Supreme Election 
Board or its successor in the management of elections, thirty days prior to 
such proposed general election, requesting the separation and organization 
of such unorganized county, that the electors of said unorganized county 
shall, at said ensuing general election, be permitted to vote upon the question 
of the separation and organization of said unorganized county; and if the 
majority of the electors of said unorganized county voting at said election 
shall vote in favor thereof, said county shall be immediately detached 
and organized under its separate county government. Provided, however, 
that at all times such unorganized county shall have its full representation 
in the General Assembly of this State, and shall have four terms of county 
court in said unorganized county each year, held by the Judge of the 
county to which said unorganized county is attached, and the said court 
shall be held at the county seat of such unorganized county, and the Clerk 
of the County Court shall appoint and maintain a Deputy Clerk for said 
unorganized county, who shall be an elector of said unorganized county and 
maintain his office at said county seat of said unorganized county. 

Sec. 4. The State of Sequoyah is hereby divided into twenty-one Sen¬ 
atorial Districts, each district composed as follows. 

COUNTIES 

Quapaw and Cherokee; 
-Lenahpa and Skiatook; 


DISTRICT 

1st _ 

2nd_ 




168 


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3rd_ Cooweescoowee and Mayes ; 

4th_--_Delaware, Flint and Tahlequali; 

5th _Tumechiche and Coweta; 

6th _;_Euchee, Tulladega, and Arbeka ; 

Ttli __Okmulgee and Cussehta; 

8th_--_Seminole and Spokogee ; 

9th _Muskogee and Breckinridge; 

30th _Sequoyah and. Thomas; 

11th _--_Wade, Rutherford and McCurtain; 

12th ___--_Eufaula and Tobuksy ; 

13th_Bixby, Push-ma-ta-ha and Hitchcock; 

14th_--_Hailey and Sans Bois ; 

15th _Blue and Tom Needles; 

16th ____—_Overton and Johnston; 

17th_Byrd, Cheadle and Moseley; 

18th ___—_Garvin and McLisli: 

19th _Harris and Washington: 

20th_—_Gilbert, Jefferson and Guy ; 

21st__—_Curtis and Bonaparte ; 

And one Senator shall be elected from each district. 

Sec. 5. From the limit of seventy-five members of the House of 


Representatives, each county of this State shall first have one member. 
Thereafter to justly give representation to such counties as have popula¬ 
tion in excess of their pro rata proportion of the population of the entire 
State, the excess number of Representatives making the grand total not 
above seventy-five shall be ascertained, then taking all counties of the State, 
the population of which is greater than the sum obtained by dividing the 
total population of the State by the total number of counties of the State 
and adding such exce'ss population together, divide the total of such addi¬ 
tions by the divisor, being the excess authorized membership of the House 
of Representatives, the quotient will be the ratio for additional representa¬ 
tion in such counties of excess population, and said excess representatives 
shall be alloted as follows: 

Any such county having an excess of population equal to one or more 
of such full ratios shall have an additional member of the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives for each such full excess ratio, or in case any such County shall 
have less than a full excess ratio or ratios, then its excess shall be multiplied 
by five, and if the sum so obtained equals one excess ratio such County shall 
have one additional member in the fifth term of the ensuing Federal Census 
decade. If the sum so obtained equals two full excess ratios, then such Coun¬ 
ty shall have one additional member each in the fourth and fifth terms of 
the ensuing Federal Census decade. If the sum so obtained equals three 
full excess ratios then such County shall have one additional member each 
in the first, second and third terms of the ensuing Federal Census decade. 
If the sum so obtained equals four full excess ratios then such County 
shall have one additional member each in the first, second, third and fourth 
terms of the ensuing Federal Census decade. Provided, however, that in 
case the said excess ratio is less than the population of the County of this 
State having the smallest population, then the population of such least 
populous County shall in every instance hereinabove mentioned be treated 
as the true excess ratio. 

Provided, That until the next Federal Census is taken and published, 
the population as ascertained according to the provision of this ConsfifuFion 
shall be the basis for the above apportionment and be ascertained and de¬ 
clared by the Supreme Election Board, and thereafter on the publishing of 
each Federal Census, the Governor, the Attorney General and the Secretary 






















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169 


of State, of this State, shall within thirty days from the publication of such 
Federal Census, and under the above rules, compute and declare the apportion¬ 
ment for the ensuing decade. 

Sec. 6. The State of Sequoyah is hereby divided into eight Circuit 
Court Districts, each such district composed of the following counties: 

The tirst Districts shall he composed of the counties of:—Cherokee, 
Lenahpa, Skiatook, Cooweescoowee and Mayes. 

The second District shall he composed of the counties of:—Quapaw, 
Delaware, Flint, Sequoyah, Tahlequah, Tumechichee and Coweta. 

The third District shall he composed of the counties of:—Euchee, Arb- 
eka, Tulledega, Okmulgee, Seminole, Spokogee and Cussehta. 

The fourth District shall he composed of the counties of:—Muskogee, 
Eufaula, Breckinridge, Thomas and Sans Bois. 

The fifth District shall be composed of the Counties of:—Tobuksy, Chea- 
dle, Moseley, Bixby and Blue. 

The sixth District shall he composed of the counties of:—Rutherford, 
Wade, Hailey, Push-ma-ta-ha, McCurtain, Hitchcock and Tom Needles. 

The seventh District shall be composed of the counties of:—Overton, 
Johnston, Byrd, Mc-Lish, Washington, and Harris. 

The eight District shall be composed of the counties of:—Curtis, Bona¬ 
parte, Gilbert. Jefferson, Garvin and Guy. 

And one judge of the circuit court shall be elected in each of said dis 5 
tricts, as in this constitution provided. 

Sec. 7. For the purpose of determining the population of each and every 
separate county of this State, it is hereby directed that the vote cast in 
each and every county at the election for ratification or rejection of this 
constitution be multiplied by five and one-tenth, the product so obtained is 
hereby declared to be the legal population of every such county and so to 
remain and be treated in all cases until the taking and publication of ..the 
next federal census. 

Sec. 8. The County seat of each county named in this constitution shall 
be determined by the place receiving the highest number of votes at the elec¬ 
tion held for the ratification of this constitution by the electors of each coun¬ 
ty. 

See. 9. The General Assembly shall provide by general law for the crea¬ 
tion of new counties, locating or changing county seats and changing county 
lines, but each of said questions shall be submitted to a vote of the electors 
residing within the territory affected, and shall be approved by a majority of 
the votes cast for or against said proposition before such new county shall 
he created, the county seat located or changed, or the lines of any county 
shall be changed. But no new county shall be formed unless it contains 
taxable property of the valuation of one million dollars as shown by the 
last preceding tax return, and not then unless the remaining portion of the 
old county or counties shall each contain taxable property of the value of 
at least two millions of dollars; nor shall said new county contain a popula¬ 
tion of less than five thousand bona fide inhabitants; nor shall the new county 
have an area of less than four hundred square miles, nor shall the area of 
the old county or counties from the territory from which the new county 
shall be taken he respectively reduced in area to less than four hundred 
square miles. The General assembly shall provide by law for an equitable 
division of the indebtedness of said old county or counties, as the case may 
be, so that the new county so created shall assume and become responsible 
for the payment of its just proportion of said debt or debts. 

Sec. 10. Each organized county in this state shall be a body corporate 


170 


The Indian Constitutions 


and politic, and shall possess such powers as are provided in this constitu¬ 
tion, together with such other powers as may hereafter be provided by law, 
including the following; 

To sue and he sued; to purchase and hold real estate and personal 
property for the use of the county, and land sold for taxes as provided by 
law; to sell and convey such property; to make such order respecting the 
same as may be deemed conducive to the best interests of the county; to 
make all contracts and do all other acts authorized by law. 

Sec. 11. The powers of a county shall be executed and administered 
by the Board of County Commissioners herein provided for, and by such 
other officers and agents as may be provided by law, and all suits brought 
for the benefit of the County or against it shall be brought in the name of the 
county. No execution on any judgment rendered by any court against a 
county shall lie issued against said county, but the collection of said judg¬ 
ment shall be in the manner and form provided by law. 

Sec. 12. There shall be, and are hereby created, the following county 
officers: Judge of the county court, clerk of the circuit court, who shall be 
ex-officio recorder, clerk of the county court, states attorney, sheriff, who 
shall be ex-officio tax collector, county treasurer, county_ surveyor, three 
county commissioners, who shall be freeholders, And a county assessor. Each 
of said offices shall be filled by election, or by appointment, as herein provided, 
or as may hereafter be provided by law, for the creation of such other coun¬ 
ty officers as may be from time to time found necessary. 

County judges, clerks of the circuit court, clerks of the county court, 
states attorneys, sheriffs, county treasurers, county surveyors, county com¬ 
missioners, county assessors, and such other county offices as may be created 
by law, shall be elected by the electors of each county and shall respectively 
perform such duties and receive such salary and emoluments as are herein, 
or as may hereafter be provided by law. After the first election held under 
this constitution the county commissioners shall divide each county into 
three compact districts as nearly equal in population as practicable, subject 
to alteration at least once in three years thereafter. At the next erection 
preceding the end of the terms of said first elected county commissioners, a 
county commissioner shall be elected for each of said county commissioners 
districts. 

Sec. 13. The Board of County Commissioners shall have no power or 
authority to create or recognize any debt or obligation of the county in excess 
of the limit fixed by law; nor to issue any obligation or evidence of indebted¬ 
ness exceeding in the aggregate the limit of indebtedness fixed by law, for 
county purposes, for any one year, nor levy taxes exceeding in the aggregate 
one per centum of the value of the taxable property in the county: Provided, 
Sheriffs and County Treasurers shall not be eligible to re-election as their 
own immediate successors. 

Sec. 14. No county shall in any manner whatsoever, either directly or 
indirectly, create any indebtedness exceeding two per centum of the assessed 
value of taxable property in the county as shown by the last general assess¬ 
ment roll of said county; nor in excess of the taxes for the current year, 
unless such excess shall have been authorized by a majority vote of the 
electors of said county. 

Sec. 15. The Board of County Commissioners shall provide and furnish 
suitable rooms in which to held Circuit Court and County Court, and proper 
offices for all county officers. 

Sec. 16. Appeals may be taken to the Supreme Court from all final 
decisions or findings of the Board of County Commissioners in such manner 
as the General Assembly may provide. 


The Indian Constitutions 


171 


ARTICLE XIII 

REVENUE, TAXATION AND EXEMPTIONS 

Sec. 1. All property within the boundaries of the State, not exempt 
under the laws of the United States, shall be taxed in proportion to the 
value thereof, to be ascertained as provided by law. The work “property” 
as used in this article and section, is hereby declared to include moneys, 
credits, bonds, stocks, dues, franchises, and all other matters and things, 
real, personal or mixed, capable of private ownership. 

Sec. 2. All property used for free public libraries, free museums, cem¬ 
eteries, property used exclusively for public schools and all property of the 
United States, this State, and of counties and municipal corporations in 
this State, shall be exempt from taxation. All property owned by the Mur- 
row Indian Orphan Home, located near the city of Atoka, and all property 
owned by the Whitaker Orphan Home, located near the city of Pryor Creek, 
so long as the same shall be used exclusively as free homes or sclioolsMor 
orphan children and for poor and indigent persons, shall be exempt from 
taxation. The General Assembly may provide for the exemption from taxa¬ 
tion of such other property as may be used exclusively for agricultural and 
horticultural societies, for schools, and for religious and charitable purpose, 
but such exemptions shall only be by general law. The General Assembly 
may provide for a deduction from credits of debts due to bona tide residents 
of this State, except in cases of credits secured by mortgages or trust 
deeds. 

Sec. 3. All lands and the improvements thereon, except as herein 
provided, within the boundaries of this State, shall be assessed for taxa¬ 
tion, except such as may be exempt by reason of treaty stipulations, exist¬ 
ing between the Indians and the United States government. 

Sec. 4. The specification of the objects and subjects of taxation shall 
not deprive the General Assembly of power to require objects and subjects 
to be taxed, in such manner as may be consistent with the principles of 
taxation as fixed in this Constitution. 

Sec. 5. The General Assembly shall provide in all cases where it may 
be necessary to sell real estate for the non-payment of taxes or special 
assessments, for State, County, Municipal, or other purposes, that a return 
of such unpaid taxes or assessments shall be made to the officer of the coun¬ 
ty having authority to receive state and county taxes, and there shall be 
no sale of said property for any of said taxes or assessments but by said 
officer, upon the order or judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, to 
be designated by law. 

Sec. 6. The right of redemption from all sales of real estate for the 
non-payment of taxes or special assessments of any character whatever, shall 
exist in favor of owners and persons interested in such real estate for a 
period of not less than four years from such sales thereof. And the General 
Assembly shall provide by law, for reasonable notice to be given to the owner, 
or parties interested, by publication or otherwise, of the foct of the sale of the 
property for such taxes or assessments, and when the time of redemption 
shall empire: Provided, occupants shall in all cases be served with personal 
notice before the time of redemption expires;'and provided further That 
minors, lunatics, imbeoiDs and other incompetents and married women, shall 
be allowed three years in which to redeem real estate from sales for taxes 
or assessments after minors shall have reached their majority, after luna¬ 
tics, imbeciles and other incompetents shall be restored to natural reason, 
and' after married women shall have become femmes sole. 


172 


The Indian Constitutions 


Sec. 7. The General Assembly shall not have powgr to release or dis¬ 
charge any county, city, township, town, or district whatever, or the in¬ 

habitants thereof, or the property therein, from their or its proportionate 
share of taxes to be levied for State purposes, nor shall commutation for 
such taxes be authorized in any form whatsoever. 

Sec. S. All taxes levied for State purposes shall be paid into the Slate 
treasury. 

Sec. 9. The General Assembly may invest the corporate authorities of 

cities, towns and villages with power to make local improvements by special 

assessment or by special taxation of contiguous pro-property, or otherwise, 
provided the consent of a majority of resident property owners affected by 
such local improvements shall have been first obtained. For all other 
corporate purposes, municipal corporations may be vested with authority 
to assess and collect taxes; but such taxes shall be uniform in respect to 
persons and property within the juridiction of the body imposing the same. 

Sec. 10. The General Assembly shall not impose taxes upon Municipal 
Corporations, or the inhabitants or property thereof, for corporate purposes, 
but shall require that all be taxed for the payment of debts contracted 
under authority of law, such taxes to be uniform in respect to persons 
and property within the jurisdiction of the body imposing the same. Private 
property shall not be liable to be taken or sold for the payment of the 
corporate debts of a municipal corporation. 

Sec. 31. No person who is in default, as collector or custodian of 
money or property belonging to a municipal corporation, shall be eligible to 
any office in or under such corporation. The fees, salary or compensation 
of no municipal officer who is elected or appointed for a definite term of 
office shall be increased or diminished during such term. 

Sec. 12. No county, city, township, school district, or other municipal 
corporation shall be allowed to become indebted in any manner, or for any 
purpose to an amount, including existing indebtedness, in the aggregate 
exceeding eight per centum on the value of the taxable property therein, 
to be ascertained by the last assessment for state and county taxes, previous 
to the incurring of such indebtedness. Any county, city, school district or 
other municipal corporation, incurring any indebtedness as aforesaid, shall 
before, or at the time of doing so provide for the collection of a direct annual 
tax sufficient to pay the interest on such debt as it falls due, and also to 
Pay and discharge the principal thereof within thirty years from the time 
of contracting the same. 

Sec. 13. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the levy and 
collection of all State, County, School and Municipal taxes, and for an 
annual poll tax of not less than one dollar on every male inhabitant of this 
State, over twenty-one and under sixty years of age, except paupers, idiots 
and insane persons; said poll tax shall be paid into the State School Fund. 

Sec. 14. The total taxes on all property, for all purposes, including 
State, County, and Municipal taxes, shall not exceed in any one year thirty 
mills on the dollar, to be divided as follows: Not more than seven mills 
on the dollar for State purposes, of which two mills shall be for th e support 
of public schools: Not more than ten mills on the dollar for county purposes, 
of which three mills shall be used for the support of public schools: Not 
more than thirteen mills on the dollar for municipal purposes, of which 
five mills shall be used for the support of public schools: Provided, That 
the General Assembly shall, by general laws, authorize school districts to 
levy, by a majority vote of the citizens over twenty-one years of age 


The Indian Constitutions 


173 


therein, an additional tax of five mills on the dollar, in any one year, for 
school purposes: Provided, Further, that no such tax shall be appropriated 
to any other district than that for which it was levied: And Provided 
further, That to pay the bonded indebtedness of any municipality, an ad¬ 
ditional tax of five mills on the dollar may be levied by a vote of the 
electors of said municipality. 

Sec. 15. Municipal corporations in this State may, in addition to taxes 
provided for school purposes by this constitution, by a majority vote of the 
electors of said municipality, levy an additional tax of four mills on the 
dollar of the assessed valuation, for school purposes only; Provided, that 
no election shall be ordered for this purpose except upon the written petition 
of one-seventh of the property tax payers of said municipality. Provided, 
further, that thirty days notice by publication in the usual way shall be 
given, and proof of such publication filed with the petition. 

Sec. 16. The Board of County Commissioners of each County shall 
equalize the valuation for tax assessment of their county as provided by 
law. 


Sec. 17. The Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General 
shall be a State Board of Equalization and shall perform the duties thereof 
as provided by law. 

Sec. 18. All revenue and appropriation bills shall originate in the 
House of Representatives, but the Senate may amend or reject them as 
other bills. 

Sec. 19. The personal property of any resident of this State who is 
not married or the head of a family, in specific articles or money to be 
selected by such resident, not exceeding in value the sum of two hundred 
dollars in addition to his or her wearing apparel, shall be exempt from 
seizure on attachment or sale on execution or other process from any court, 
issued for the collection of any debt contracted; provided, that no property 
shall be exempt for debts, contracted for the purchase-money therefor, while 
in the hands of the vendee. 

Sec. 20. The personal property of any resident of this State who is 
married or the head of a family, in specific articles or money, to be selected 
by such resident, not exceeding in value the sum of five hundred dollars 
in addition to his or her wearing apparel and that of his or her family, 
shall be exempt from seizure on attachment., or sale on execution, or other 
process from any court on any debt contracted; Provided, that no property 
shall be exempt for debts contracted for the purchase money therefor while 
in the hands of the vendee; Provided further, that all necessary tools of 
mechanics and laborers and the implements of farmers, to an amount not 
exceeding three hundred dollars, shall b° exempt from seizure on attachment 
or sale on execution. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the 
protection afforded in this and the preceding sections herein, so that all 
persons may enjoy the same without interference by any court, and without 
cost to them. 

Sec. 21. Upon the death of the husband or wife, or both, the homestead 
shall descend and vest in like manner as other real property of the de¬ 
ceased, and shall be governed by the same laws of descent and distribution, 
but it shall not be partitioned among the heirs of the deceased during the 
life of the surviving spouse so long as he or she may remain unmarried, 
or so long as the guardian of the minor heirs of the deceased may be 
permitted, under order of the proper court having jurisdiction, to use and 
occupy the same with said minors. 


174 


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Sec. 22. The homestead, not in any town or city, shall consist of not 
more than one hundred acres of land, which may he in one or more parcels, 
with improvements thereon, to be selected by the owner ; Provided, the same 
shall not exceed in value the sum of five thousand dollars, and in no event 
shall such homestead be reduced to less than forty acres, with the improve¬ 
ments thereon, without regard to value; Provided, further, that Indian 
homesteads in excess of one hundred acres made under the laws, and the 
treaties between the United States and the Indian tribes of this State, 
shall be affirmed and respected until said homesteads become alienable. 

Sec. 23. The homestead in any city, town or village, owned and oc¬ 
cupied as a residence, shall consist of not exceeding one acre of land, with 
the improvements thereon, to be selected by the owner; Provided, said 
homestead shall not exceed in value the sum of live thousand dollars, and 
in no event shall such homstead be reduced to less than one quarter of 
an acre of land, together with the improvements thereon, without regard 
to value; Provided, that any temporary renting of the homestead shall not 
change the character of the same when no other homestead has been ac¬ 
quired. 

Sec. 24. The homestead of a family shall be, and is hereby protected 
from, forced sale, for the payment of all debts, except for the purchase 
money thereof, or a part of such purchase money, the taxes due thereon, or 
for work and material used in constructing improvements thereon, and in 
the last case only when the work and material are contracted for in writing, 
with the consent of the wife given in the same manner as is required in 
making a sale and conveyance of the homestead ; nor shall the owner, if a 
married man, sell the homestead without the consent of the wife, given 
in such manner as may be prescribed by law. No mortgage, trust deed, or 
other lien on the homestead shall ever be valid, except for the purchase 
money thereof, or improvements made thereon, as hereinbefore provided, 
whether such mortgage, or trust deed, or other lien, shall have been created 
by the husband alone or together with liis wife; and all pretended sales of 
the homestead involving any conditions of defeasance shall be void. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

MILITIA. 

Sec. 1. The Militia shall consist of all able bodied male persons resi¬ 
dents of this State, between ages of eighteen and forty-five years, except 
such as may be exempted by the laws of the United States, or of this 
State; and shall be organized, armed, equipped and trained as may be 
prescribed by law, not inconsistent with the regulations governing the United 
States Army. 

Sec. 2. The Militia of this State shall be divided into two classes, viz: 
That porton which shall be organized, armed and equipped, which shall 
be known as the “Sequoyah National Guards” and the unorganized Militia, 
which shall be known as the “Sequoyah Reserves.” 

Sec. 3. The Governor shall have power to call out the National Guard, 
and to call and organize the Reserve for the purpose of executing the laws 
of the State, repelling invasion, suppressing riot or insurrection, and pre¬ 
serving the public peace. 

Sec. 4. Officers of the National Guard shall be selected from the or¬ 
ganization to which they belong. All offices shall be filled by competitive 
examinations, to be held by a board consisting of three members, one of 
whom shall be an officer of the United States Regular Army, not below the 


The Indian Constitutions 


175 


rank of Captain, one a medical officer of tlie National Guard and the third 
member to be selected by the other two. The United States Regular officer 
and Medical officer of the board to be designated by the Governor. Vacan¬ 
cies shall be tilled by seniority, subject to examination by the board of of¬ 
ficers as prescribed for original appointment. 

Sec. 5. The Commissioned officers "of the National Guard shall hold 
their respective office during good behavior, unless otherwise provided by 
law; provided, however, that in case an organization of the National Guard 
shall be mustered out of service, the officers thereof shall be given certifica¬ 
tion of honorable discharge. 

Sec. 6. No officer of the National Guard shall be deprived of his com¬ 
mission except by sentence of a properly constituted Court Martial having 
jurisdiction of the same. 

Sec. 7. The findings and decree of Courts Martial shall not be re¬ 
versible by a civil tribunal, except as provided by law. 

Sec. S. The officers of the military service of this State shall be, such 
as are provided by law. 

Sec. 9. The execution by an officer in the Military service of this State 
of a written order, or of verbal order, the interpretation of which could 
not be reasonably misunderstood, from his superior officer, or a person to 
whom he has been directed to report for duty, shall be a complete defense 
to any suit or action which may be brought against him in the Civil Crim¬ 
inal courts of the State; but this shall not relieve the persons responsible 
for such order from liability. 


ARTICLE XV. 

PROHIBITION. 

Sec. 1. The manufacture, sale, barter, or giving away of intoxicating 
liquors or spirits of any kind within this State is forever prohibited. 

Sec. 2. Any person who shall, within this State, manufacture, or for 
any purpose sell, barter or give away, or by any means furnish, to any 
one any vinous, malt or fermented liquors or intoxicating spirits or drinks 
of any kind whatsoever, and any person who may, within this State, in any 
manner advertise or solicit the sale or purchase of any such liquors, shall, 
upon conviction thereof, in any court of competent jurisdiction, be punished 
for each offense by fine not less than fifty dollars, nor more than one 
thousand dollars, and by imprisonment not less than sixty days, nor more 
than one year and one day; Provided, That the General Assembly may 
provide by law for one dispensary, under the supervision of this State, in 
each county, for the sale of liquors for medicinal, mechanical and scientific 
purposes only, each sale to be made upon sworn application in writing stating 
the purpose for which the liquor is to be used; and any person who shall 
make a false affidavit to obtain liquor for any other purpose shall be deemed 
guilty of perjury. Each sale shall be duly registered, and the register there¬ 
of, shall be, at all times, open to inspection by any officer or citizen of this 
State. If any person employed in a dispensary be convicted of making any 
sale of liquor for any purpose other than herein provided, he shall be 
punished by imprisonment for not less than one year and one day. The 
payment, in this State, by any person, of the special tax required of liquor 
dealers by the United States, shall be prima facie evidence of his intention 
to violate the provisions of this section. 


176 


The Indian Constitutions 


Sec. 3. The Governor shall appoint three Commissioners, two from the 
dominant political party and one from the party casting the next highest 
vote at the last state election, one of whom s'hall he learned in the law, to 
be known as “Enforcement Commissioners,” who shall he vested with full 
authority and power and he required, with the advice and under direction 
of the Governor, to strictly enforce the liquor laws of this state; and, in 
the performance of their duties, such Commissioners may command the aid 
of the Attorney General of the state, all states attorneys, and all sheriffs 
and other executive officers of the counties, and any other person by them 
appointed; but the authority so conferred upon such commissioners shall 
not in any degree relieve any other officer from the discharge of any duty 
relating to the execution of such laws. The General Assembly shall, at its 
first session, fix the salaries of such commissioners, and provide for them all 
assistance and expenses necessary for the proper performance of their duties, 
and enact laws for the aid and government of such commissioners in the 
work of enforcing the law aforesaid. The Governor may at any time re¬ 
move any member of such commission from office for immoral conduct, in¬ 
efficiency, or delinquency of duty, and appoint another competent person to 
fill the vacancy. 


ARTICLE XVI 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 1. The following shall be the device for the “Great Seal of the State 
of Sequoyah”: 

In the center shall be a five pointed star, with one ray pointing down¬ 
ward. The star shall be divided into five diamond shaped rays by lines 
connecting the angles between the rays with the center. The upper left 

hand ray shall contain the symbol from the ancient seal of the Cherokee 

Nation, viz: A seven pointed star surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves. 
The upper right hand ray shall contain the symbol from the ancient seal 
of the Creek Nation, viz: A sheaf of wheat and a plow. The lower left 
hand ray shall contain the symbol from the ancient seal of the Choctaw 
Nation, viz: A Tomahawk, bow and three crossed arrows. The lower right 
hand ray shall contain the symbol from the ancient seal of the Seminole 

Nation, viz: A village with houses and factory besides a lake upon which 

an Indian is paddling a canoe. The lowest ray shall contain the symbol 
from the ancient seal of the Chickasaw Nation, viz: An Indian warrior 
standing upright with bow in his hand. Surmounting the star between 
the two upper rays shall be a half length figure of Sequoyah holding tablet 
upon which are inscribed the letters 4660-C in the alphabet invented by 
Sequoyah, and forming the Cherokee words meaning “We are brethren.” 
Surrounding the central star and grouped between its rays, shall be forty- 
five small stars, representing the forty-five states of the Union to which 
the forty-sixth is now added. In a circular band surrounding the whole 
device shall be inscribed “Great Seal of the State of Sequoyah, 1905.” 

Sec. 2. All courts of record and municipal corporations shall have a 
seal which shall be used in attesting all process, judgments, decrees, or¬ 
dinances, or other official documents of the court or municipal corporation 
to which it belongs, in form as provided by law. 

Sec. 3. The State of Sequoyah and the several counties, districts, and 
municipalities thereof shall never lend credit funds, nor guarantee, nor in 
any way contribute to private or corporate enterprises, nor in any way 
invest or become interested therein. 

Sec. 4. No public officer in this state shall be permitted, at any time 


The Indian Constitutions 


177 


during his incumbency in office, to solicit or receive any gift, grant or 
emolument of any kind other than his salary as fixed by law for the doing 
or not doing of any act or thing incident to his official duties and obliga¬ 
tions : Any violation of this provision shall work a forfeiture of the of¬ 
fice held by him. 

Sec. 5. The State of Sequoyah shall never be made defendant in any 
of its courts without its consent. 

Sec. 6. The real and personal property of any femme covert in this 
state, acquired either before or after marriage, whether by gift, grant, in¬ 
heritance, devise, or otherwise, shall, so long as she may choose, be and re¬ 
main her separate estate and property, and may be devised, bequeathed 
or conveyed by her the samp as if she were a femme sole, and the same 
shall not be subject to the debts of her husband: Provided, that any land 
acquired from or through her husband shall not be disposed of in any 
way without his consent. 

Sec. 7. The General Assembly shall provide by law for a Board of 
Health to be appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Senate, 
■which shall be known as the “State Board of Health,” the duties of which 
shall be to examine and pass upon the qualifications of applicants for li¬ 
cense to practice medicine, surgery, dentistry or pharmacy in this state; 
said State Board of Health shall have power to declare and maintain quar¬ 
antine, and to prescribe such sanitary regulations as are necessary and are 
not in conflict with the laws of this state. 

Sec. S. Polygamy is forever prohibited in this state and the same shall 
be deemed a felony; any person convicted of such crime shall be punished 
by fine of not less than one hundred dollars and imprisonment for not less 
than one year and one day. 

Sec. 9. No divorce shall be granted in this state otherwise than by 
judicial proceedings. Lotteries, or the sale or giving away of lottery tickets 
in this state are forever prohibited. Prize fights, or other brutal sports 
shall not be allowed in this state. 

Sec. 10. The General Assembly shall, at its first session, pass laws to 
protect laborers on public buildings, streets, roads, railroads, canals, and 
other similar public works, against the failure of contractors and sub-con¬ 
tractors to pay their current wages when due, and to make the corporation, 
company or individual for whose benefit the work is.done, responsible for 
their ultimate payment. 

Sec. 11. The labor of children under twelve years of age in factories 
and workshops in this state is prohibited. 

Sec. 12. It shall be unlawful for any person, or corporation to require 
from its servants or employes as a condition of their employment or other- 
vase, any contract or agreement, whereby such person or corporation shall 
be released or discharged from liability or responsibility, on account of 
personal injuries received by such servants or employes while in the ser¬ 
vice of such person or corporation, by reason of the negligence of such 
person or corporation, or the agents or employes thereof; all such contracts 
shall be absolutely null and void. 

Sec. 13. No railroad hereafter constructed in this state shall pass 
wdthin a distance of four miles of any county seat without passing through 
the same, and establishing and maintaining a depot therein, unless prevented 
by natural obstacles, such as streams, hills or mountains: Provided, such 


178 


The Indian Constitutions 


town ox' its citizens shall grant the right of way through its limits and 
sufficient ground for ordinary depot purposes. 

Sec. 14. Two months of current wages, for personal service, shall not 
be subject to garnishment. 

Sec. 15. All labor of convicts confined in the state’s prisons and re¬ 
formatories shall be performed within the prison grounds, except where the 
work is done on public roads, or public works under the dii'ect control of 
the state. 

Sec. 16. The first day of the week commonly called Sunday, shall for¬ 
ever be respected as a day of rest, and the General Assembly shall enact 
appropriate laws making this provision of this Constitution effective. 

Sec. 17. The provisions of this Constitution are not intended to con¬ 
flict with, nor shall they ever he so construed as conflicting with, the Con¬ 
stitution of the United States, or with any right, or privilege, as to person 
or property, enjoyed by or secured to any Indians or other citizens of the 
Five Civilized Tribes, or their descendants, or to citizens of the Qixapaw 
Agency, by any law or existing treaty between the United States and said 
Indians or tribes of Indians, and particularly as to homesteads, exemptions, 
and taxation. 


ARTICLE XVII 
AMENDMENTS 

Sec. 1. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be 
proposed in either House of the General Assembly, and, if the same shall 
be agreed to by two-thirds of all the members elected to each of the two 
Houses, voting separately, such proposed amendment or amendments shall, 
with the yeas and nays thereon, he entered on their journals; and it shall 
be the duty of the General Assembly to submit such amendment or amend¬ 
ments to the electors of the state at the next general election, and cause 
the same to be published without delay for at least twelve consecutive 
weeks prior to said election, in at least one newspaper of general eircixla- 
tion pxxblished in each county; and if a majority of the electors voting at 
Such election shall ratify the same, such amendment or amendments shall 
become a part of this Constitution. 

Sec. 2. If two or more amendments are proposed, they shall he sub¬ 
mitted in such manner that electors may vote for or against each of them 
separately. 

ARTICLE XVIII 
SCHEDULE 

Sec. 1. That no inconveniences may arise from a change from the pres¬ 
ent governments in force in the Indian Territory, to a permanent govern¬ 
ment, it is declared that all writs, actions, prosecutions, claims, or liabilities, 
of whatsoever nature or kind, and rights of individuals and of bodies cor¬ 
porate, shall continue as if no change had taken place in this government, 
and all process which may, before the organization of the Judicial Depart¬ 
ment under this Constitution, be issued under the authority in force in the 
Indian Territory, shall be as valid as if issued in the name of the State 
of Seqxxoyali; and all writs and process, both civil and criminal, that have 
been issued by any of the courts having jurisdiction in the Indian Terri¬ 
tory, and made returnable to said Courts, not served at the time the Courts 


The Indian Constitutions 


179 


of the State assume jurisdiction, shall be, by the officers having charge 
thereof, served and Returned into the appropriate Court of the state. 

Sec. 2. All laws now in force in the Indian Territory, which are not 
repugnant to this Constitution, shall remain in force until they expire by 
their own limitation, or are altered or repealed by the General Assembly 
of this state. 

Sec. 3. All fines, penalties, forfeitures and escheats, accruing to the 
Indian Territory, shall accrue to the use of the state, or to either of the 
Five Civilized Tribes of Indians, as the case may be. 

Sec. 4. All recognizances, bonds, obligations, or other undertakings 
heretofore entered into in the Indian Territory, or which may hereafter be 
entered into in the Indian Territory before the organization of the Judicial 
Department under this Constitution, shall remain valid, and shall pass over 
to, and may be prosecuted in the name of the state, and all bonds, obliga¬ 
tions or other undertakings executed in the Indian Territory, or to any of¬ 
ficer of the United States therein in his official capacity, shall pass over 
to the proper state authorities and to their successors in office, or the towns 
therein respectively interested, and may be sued for and recovered upon ac¬ 
cordingly. All criminal prosecutions and penal action, which have arisen or 
which may arise in the Indian Territory before the organization of the 
Judicial Department under this Constitution, and which shall then be pend¬ 
ing, may be prosecuted to judgment and execution in the name of the state. 

Sec. 5. All officers, civil and military, bolding their offices and appoint¬ 
ments in the Indian Territory, under the authority of the United States, or 
of either of the Five Civilized Tribes of Indians, shall continue to hold 
and exercise their respective offices and appointments until suspended un¬ 
der this Constitution. Provided, that if the State of Sequoyah shall not be 
admitted into the Union as one of the United States prior to the 4th day 
of March, 1906, nothing in this Constitution contained shall be construed as 
being in conflict with the laws or agreements for the termination of the 
tribal governments of the Five Civilized. Tribes, or, as authorizing the con¬ 
tinuance in office of any of the officers thereof. 

Sec. 6. This Constitution shall be submitted to the qualified electors of 
the Indian Territory for adoption or rejection at an election to be held on 
Tuesday, the 7th day of November, 1905. Said election, as nearly as may 
be, shall be called and held in all respects in the manner provided by this 
Constitution, and the returns, thereof, shall be made to the Supreme Election 
Board provided by this Constitution, who shall canvass the same, and if a 
majority of the legal A’otes cast shall be for the Constitution, the Supreme 
Election Board shall certify the result to the President of the United States, 
together with a statement of the votes cast thereon, and a copy of the ar¬ 
ticles, provisions and ordinances of said Constitution. Said Supreme Board 
shall, as herein directed, provide for the eleeton of four Congressmen at 
Large, from the State of Sequoyah, to represent this state in the 59th Con¬ 
gress of the United States, and shall issue to each Congressman so elected, 
a certificate of his election. They shall also provide for the selection of the 
county seat town of each county by the qualified electors thereof. A Certifi¬ 
cate of the vote cast for county seat in each county shall be returned to 
the Secretary of State when he shall be elected and qualified, and shall be 
filed and preserved by him. 


180 


The Indian Constitutions 


At said election the ballot shall be in the following form: 

FORM OF BALLOT: 

Indian Territory, Proposed State of Sequoyah. 
For Ratification of Constitution. 

Yes 

No. 

For County Seat of---County 


For Congressmen at Large to represent the 
State of Sequoyah, in the 59th Congress of the 
United States, from the date of the admission 
of this State: 


(Note, The voter, on the ratification or rejec¬ 
tion of the Constitution, will vote either “‘yes” 
or “no,” distinctly erasing the other. If the 
voter votes “no,” that is, for rejection of the 
whole Constitution, he will ignore the remain¬ 
der of the ticket. If the elector votes “yes” on 
the ratification of the Constitution, he may 
vote for the town of his choice for county- 
seat of the county designated, and for four 
representatives of his choice for Congressmen, 
in all cases erasing all words and names for 
which he does not desire to cast his vote.) 

The form of ballot must be uniform at all voting places in the Terri¬ 
tory, excepting only as to the name of the county and the towns in such 
county aspiring to be the county-seat thereof. The Board of Elections will 
so prepare the ballots in each county as to designate the name of such 
county and towns which said Board has recognized as properly aspiring to be 
the county-seat town, and have on the Ballots of each county, the name of 
the county and such aspiring county-seat towns, printed thereon. 

As to the candidates for Representatives at Large to the 59th Con¬ 
gress, the Supreme Election Board will cause the names of such candidates 
to be printed upon all ballots, and opposite each name of such candidates 
shall be printed the name of the party or convention nominating such can¬ 
didate, provided, that not more than four candidates shall be allowed to be 
placed upon such ballot by any one political party or convention. The elec¬ 
tor may vote for not exceeding four such candidates, and will distinctly 
erase the names of all candidates for whom he does not desire to vote. 

Sec. 7. This Constitution shall take effect and he in force immediately 
upon the admission of the Indian Territory as a state. 

Sec. 8. Immediately upon the admission of the Territory as a state, 
the Supreme Election Board shall issue a proclamation which shall be pub¬ 
lished, and a copy, thereof, mailed to the chairman of the subordinate 
county election board of each county, calling an election by the people for 
all the state, district, or other officers created and made elective by this 


















The Indian Constitutions 


181 


Constitution, and fixing a day for such election, which shall not be less than 
forty days after the date of such proclamation, nor more than sixty days 
after the admission of the Territory as a state. The County Election Board 
of the several counties shall thereupon order such election for said date, 
notice thereof to be given, in and for the length of time provided by the 
Supreme Election Board, for the election of all state, county and other pub¬ 
lic officers (Congressmen excepted). Every qualified elector of this state, 
at the date of said election, shall be entitled to vote. Said election shall 
be conducted in all respects in the manner provided by this Constitution. 

Sec. 9. The Supreme Election Board, provided for in this Constitution, 
shall constitute a Board of Canvassers to canvass the vote of said elec¬ 
tion for members of Congress, the state and district officers, and members 
of the General Assembly. The said Supreme Election Board shall assemble 
at the seat of government of the Territory on the 10th day after such elec¬ 
tion, (or on the following day, if said day falls on Sunday), and proceed to 
canvass the vote for all state, district, county and other public officers and 
members of the General Assembly, in the manner provided by this Constitu¬ 
tion ; and they shall issue certificates of election to the persons found to 
be elected to said offices, severally, and shall make and file with the Sec¬ 
retary of State an abstract, certified by them, of the number of the votes 
cast for each person, for each of said offices, and of the total number of 
votes cast in each county. 

Sec. 10. All officers elected at said election, except members of the 
General Assembly, shall, within thirty days after they have been declared 
elected, take the oath and give the bond required by this Constitution, and 
shall thereupon enter upon the duties of their respective offices; but the Gen¬ 
eral Assembly may require by law all such officers to give other and further 
bonds as a condition of their continuance in office. 

Sec. 11. The Governor-elect of the state, immediately upon his qualifiy- 
ing and entering upon the duties of his office, shall issue liis proclamation 
convening the General Assembly of the state at the seat of government, on a 
day to be named in said proclamation, and it shall not be less than thirty 
nor more than sixty days after the date of such proclamation. Within ten 
days after the organization of the General Assembly, both houses thereof 
in joint session, shall then and there proceed to elect, as provided by the 
Constitution of the United States, and by law, two senators of the United 
States for the State of Sequoyah. At said election the two persons who 
shall receive a majority of all the votes cast by the members elected to 
the Senate and House of Representatives, shall be elected as such United 
States Senators, and shall be so declared by the presiding officers of said 
joint session. The presiding officers of the Senate and House shall issue a 
certificate to each of said Senators, certifying his election, which certifi¬ 
cate shall also be signed by the Governor, attested by the Secretary of 
State and the Great Seal of the State. 

Sec. 12. The General Assembly shall pass all necessary laws to carry 
into effect the provisions of this Constitution. 

Sec, 13. Whenever any two of the judges of the Supreme Court of 
this state, elected under the provisions of this Constitution, shall have 
qualified in their offices, the causes then pending in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the Indian Territory, and the papers, records and proceed¬ 
ings of said Court, and other property pertaining thereto, in all cases over 
which the Supreme Court of this state is, by this Constitution, given juris¬ 
diction, shall pass into the juirsdic-tion and possession of the Supreme 
Court of the state; and until so superseded the United States Court of 


182 


The Indian Constitutions 


Appeals for the Indian Territory, and the judges thereof, shall continue 
with like powers and jurisdiction, as if this Constitution had not been 
adopted. Whenever the judge of the Circuit Court of any district, elected 
under the provisions of this Constitution, shall have qualified in office, the 
several causes then pending in the United States District Court therein, 
within any county or counties in such district, papers and proceedings of 
said court and all other property pertaining thereto, in all cases over which 
the Circuit Courts of this state are by this Constitution given jurisdiction, 
shall pass into the jurisdiction and possession of the Circuit Court of the 
state for such district, and until then the United States District Courts and 
the judges thereof shall continue with the same jurisdiction and powers, 
to he exercised in the same judicial districts, respectively, as heretofore 
provided by the laws of the United States. When the judge of the County 
Court of any county, elected under the provisions of this Constitution, shall 
have qualified in office, the several causes then pending in the United States 
District Court and in United States Commissioners Courts within any coun¬ 
ty in such district, and the records, papers and proceedings in said United 
States District Commissioners Courts over, which County Court are given 
jurisdiction by this Constitution, shall pass into the jurisdiction and posses¬ 
sion of the County Court of this state for such county: until the United 
States District shall he superseded in the manner aforesaid, the said District 
Courts, and the judges thereof, shall continue with the same jurisdiction 
and power to be exercised in the same districts, respectively, as heretofore 
constituted under the laws of the United States. 

Sec. 14. Whenever this Constitution shall go into effect, the records, 
and papers and proceedings of the Probate Court in each county, and all 
causes and matters of administration, and all other matters pending there¬ 
in, shall pass into the jurisdiction of the County Court of the same coun¬ 
ty, and the County Court shall proceed to final decree, or judgment, or or¬ 
der, or other determination of said matters and causes as the United States 
Courts, sitting as courts of probate, might have done if this Constitution 
had not been adopted. Provided, that the removal of causes to the several 
courts of this state shall apply only to such causes as by the law of the 
United States, and the treaties of the United States with the several In¬ 
dian Tribes of the Indian Territory, are properly removable to the State 
Courts. 

. Sec. 15. All actions, causes, proceedings, and matters which shall be 
pending in the Supreme, Circuit, or County Courts of the Five Civilized 
Tribes of Indians, at the time of the admission of the state into the Union, 
whereof the Supreme, Circuit, or County Court would have had jurisdic¬ 
tion, had such court existed at the commencement of such actions, causes, 
proceedings and matters, respectively, shall be transferred to said Supreme, 
Circuit, or County Court, as the case may be; and all files, records, indict¬ 
ments, proceedings and matters shall be transferred to said State Courts 
and said courts of this state, to which said causes shall be transferred, shall 
proceed to final decree, or judgment, or order, or other determination, as 
said Indian Courts might have done if this Constitution had not been 
adopted. 

Sec. 16. The members of the General Assembly and all state officers, 
district, county, circuit, and Supreme Judges, elected at the first election 
held under this Constitution, shall hold their respective offices for the full 
term next ensuing such election, in addition to the period intervening be¬ 
tween the date of their qualification to the commencement of such full term. 

Sec. 17. This Convention does hereby declare on behalf of the people 
of Indian Territory, that this Constitution has been prepared and sub- 


The Indian Constitutions 


183 


mitted to the people of the Indian Territory for their adoption or rejection, 
with no purpose of setting up or organizing a state government until such 
time as the Congress of the United States shall enact a law for the admis¬ 
sion of the Indian Territory as a state. 

Sec. 18. The seat of state government of the State of Sequoyah shall 
be located at the town of Fort Gibson, in said state, for the term of six 
years from the date of the admission of this state into the Union, and there¬ 
after until its location he changed by an act of the General Assembly, whicn 
act, must, before becoming effectve, be approved by a majority of the elec¬ 
tors of this state, at a general election, of which six months notice snail 
be given, as when amendments to this Constitution are to be voted on: 
Provided, if the people of Fort Gibson, shall fail to provide grounds and 
building suitable for state offices, including assembly rooms for the two 
Houses, free of cost to the state, the Supreme Election Board is hereby 
authorized to designate some other suitable place for the temporary sear 
of government, until the first General Assembly, shall, by law, otherwise 
provide. 

When this Constitution shall have been ratified by the people of me 
State of Sequoyah, it shall be correctly and properly engrossed on parcn- 
ment, and when duly signed by the officers and members of this Constitu¬ 
tional Convention, shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State ana 
sacredly preserved by him as the fundamental law of the State of Sequoyan. 

Done in open Convention at the City of Muskogee, in the Indian Terri¬ 
tory, this eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
nine hundred and five. 

We hereby certify that the foregoing is a true, correct and complete 
copy of the Constitution adopted by the Constitutional Convention of the 
State of Sequoyah (Indian Territory). 

In testimonv whereof we hereto set our hands this 14th day of October, 

1905. 


Attest: 

ALEX POSEY, 
Secretary. 


P. PORTER, 

Chairman. 




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